Buffalo's men's and women's swim teams watched St. Bonaventure celebrate their Senior Night in style Wednesday night. Both Bonnie squads dispatched the visiting Bulls in non-conference, dual-meet action, bringing both teams' regular seasons to a close.
The men (3-4, 1-2 MAC) were dropped by a score of 139-100, while the women (6-5, 3-4 MAC) were edged by a count 125-112. With the win, Bonaventure's men improved to 6-4, while the women jumped to 9-2 on the year.
"They swam well," said Bulls head coach Andy Bashor, on Bonaventure. Bashor also commented on the strength of St. Bonaventure's men's squad, as well as their home-field advantage.
The men earned five first-place finishes at the meet. Sophomores Connor Vander Zalm and Michael McDowell each contributed two wins to the total. Vander Zalm took the 1,000-yard freestyle with a time of 9:55.15, then followed up with a win in the 500-yard freestyle, touching the wall in 4:55.35. McDowell swept the diving events from the one-and three-meter boards, scoring 286.87 and 364.85 points on each, respectively.
Sophomore Andrew Tamchyna tallied the other win for the men, finishing the 200-yard backstroke in 1:55.36.
St. Bonaventure's men scored eight first-place finishes on their way to their third straight win as they prepare for the Atlantic 10 Conference championships.
Buffalo's women took six first-place finishes throughout the course of the evening. Freshman Jessie Koltz won the 50-and 100-yard freestyle events with :24.61 and :53.53.
Not to be outdone by her male counterpart, diver Meili Carpenter took both events from the one and three-meter boards with scores of 277.80 and 286.81.
Freshman Jordan Deren and sophomore Jessica Ballard also earned individual victories. Deren won the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 5:13.09, while Ballard's time of 2:11.98 was good enough to win the 200-yard individual medley.
The Bulls' lackluster performance can be partially blamed on the their new training regimen as they prepare for the conference championships, which will take place toward the end of the month. UB's swimmers are now in what is known as a "taper" in their practice schedule, which is a period during which the teams decrease the frequency and intensity of their workouts in order to rest up for optimal performance at a time when they need it most.
Unfortunately, the swimmers' bodies have yet to adjust to the change, resulting in some sub-par performances. Despite the loss, though, panic is not prevalent within the Bulls' ranks.
"We put all our apples in one basket," Bashor said. "Ultimately, we just want to swim fast when the time comes." Bashor went to great lengths in stressing the importance of the championships looming on the horizon.
"It's something that we talked about before the meet," Bashor said. "Everybody is going to be in such a different place physically. We want to win, but if we don't, it's not a big deal because the goal is to swim fast in two weeks (at the MAC championships.)"
Buffalo's men will not swim again until Wednesday, Feb. 27 when the MAC/Sun Belt conference championships are set to begin in Nashville, TN.
"We're charting new territory this year," Bashor said of the merger between the conferences. Despite a degree of uncertainty, Bashor is confident that the men will do well in Nashville.
"A lot of men are going to shine," he says. "The guys are excited."
UB's women, on the other hand, begin their post season much sooner, as their MAC championships begin on Wednesday, Feb. 20 and will be held on campus at Alumni Arena.
Coach Bashor has said that he expects his team to be in the thick of things once the events start, hoping to be battling for a place among the better teams from the conference.
"A lot of women are going to be fun to watch," Bashor said.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
