After winning last week’s home meet against Cleveland State, the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams traveled to Buffalo to take on Canisius College. The men beat the Golden Griffins 144 to 99, while the women lost a hard-fought meet by four points, 115 to 119.
For the men, a team effort led to the victory. Junior Michael Pilyugin set a pool record in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 47.36, and five of his teammates won events as well. It was a dominating performance for the Bonnies as they took first in 8 of the 13 events. Although they found success in swimming events, the Bonnies struggled off the diving board, losing both diving events to Canisius.
On the women’s side, sophomore Tanja Kirmse continued to excel, winning both the 200-yard freestyle and the 100-yard freestyle. Freshman Michaela Ryan picked up her first collegiate victories, taking the 1,000-yard freestyle and the 500-yard freestyle. The team had been training hard going into the meet, and coach Krista Carlson expected her team to be fatigued.
“You don’t want to lose at any point, but this one wasn’t too hard to handle,” Carlson said. “Our girls know they have to train hard now if they want to see good results in February.”
Kirmse agreed with her coach.
“It was rough, we were all really tired,” Kirmse said. “Our individual performances were good, and we all did our best. It’s not a big deal to lose since it’s just a dual meet. We want to be way faster next weekend.”
Despite the fatigue, Ryan found a way to win, and her efforts did not go unnoticed by her coach.
“I though Michaela’s performance while getting her first win in college was really inspiring for the rest of the team to see,” Carlson said.
This weekend, the teams will travel to Pennsylvania for a three-day invitational hosted by the University of Pittsburgh. The men will look to continue their winning ways, while the women hope that a decrease in training will lead to faster times.
“We’ve done less yardage in the pool,” Carlson said. “We’re doing a ‘drop’ taper, so the girls don’t get a lot of rest, but they get enough to feel fresher this weekend. This will be the first meet where they feel good.”
Carlson hopes to see fast time at Pittsburgh, as the team continues preparing for the Atlantic 10 meet.
“I’m looking for them to swim well,” she said. “We’re looking for confidence. This meet will let me see how each girl reacts in a certain situation. We haven’t been to a meet with preliminary heats and finals yet this year, so this will be a good indicator of who can step up and swim well in the morning and who still needs some work.”
For Kirmse, the rest provides an opportunity to perform well at a big meet.
“I want to go as fast as I did at this point last season,” Kirmse said. “I’d like to swim in the finals of the 200-yard freestyle, the 200-yard butterfly, and the 500-yard freestyle.
Kirmse will get a chance to meet her goals starting this Friday in Pittsburgh.
