By Mikael Desanto
Staff Writer
The St. Bonaventure Bonnies placed third overall out of seven teams in its most recent meet, the Pittsburgh Invitational.
The Bonnies’ top finisher was senior Michael Pilyugin, who won the 100-yard freestyle. In addition, Pilyugin qualified for the United States Olympic Trials in the 100-yard backstroke.
The University of Pittsburgh, the host team, won and West Chester University took second.
The team also found success in the 200-yard backstroke with a third-place finish from sophomore Matt Taccard and a fifth-place finish from senior Gregg Byrne.
“I am really happy with how I did,” Byrne said. “We didn’t really rest or shave, and I swam the same times I did at A-10’s last year, so I was really surprised.”
But even with success, Byrne said he is aware of improvements he needs to make going forward.
“I think it is more about working on the little things now,” he said. “We have put in a lot of work, and there is still time to put more in, but now it’s time to focus on the little things that are going to make us faster.”
The team’s next meet will be at the Akron Invitational in Akron, Ohio, from Friday to Sunday. Following the Akron Invitational, the team will not have another meet until mid-January. This time between meets is an important period in the season, according to Taccard.
“Coming into the winter months, practices start to get a lot more intense to break our bodies down, which is what we did last year,” Taccard said.
Taccard believes the Akron Invitational is a significant meet for the team heading into the winter portion of the season, he said.
“Akron is an important meet because it is another prelims/finals format meet, which is how A-10’s is run also,” Taccard said.
Byrne also sees the value of the invitational and its potential impact on the rest of the season, he said.
“We didn’t go to this meet last year because it was really close to finals, so it should be nice to go back again and race different teams,” Byrne said. “It gives us a chance to race some of our off events at a championship meet format.”
Byrne reflected upon his final year so far, and has found many positive aspects to focus on heading down the stretch, he said.
“I think the season is going really well,” Byrne said. “Personally it is probably the best season I have had since high school, which is nice, to finally have that feeling that hard work is paying off.”
Taccard also said he has seen the positives in the team’s performance and remains optimistic about the team’s chances for success later in the season.
“This season has been going great,” he said. “A lot of guys have been performing at their best and proving to coach that we are ready for championships in February.”
