Over the weekend, Bulls swimming and diving (3-1, 0-0 MAC) competed in a two-day unscored meet against Canisius University (0-6, 0-2 MAAC) and Niagara University (2-2, 0-0 MAAC) that showed promising performances as they prepare for their mid-season meet on Dec. 4.
The three-session meet kicked off with the Bulls winning the second women’s event of the day, the 50-yard breaststroke. Sophomore swimmer Ava Pauly took first place with a time of 28.88 — the fastest time posted by a UB athlete this season in the event. Freshman swimmer
Pinar Donmez took second in the event with a time of 29.08. The next event that the Bulls would go on to win was the 50-yard backstroke, won by senior swimmer Nicole Aguilar, with a time of 26.63. Later in the first session, the Bulls would sweep the podium in the 50-yard butterfly with Aguilar in first, sophomore swimmer Bella Forsman in second, and freshman swimmer Alex Bulat in third, with times of 25.02, 25.17 and 25.78 respectively. The Bulls would close out Friday with a win in the 400-yard medley relay with the team of junior swimmer Vivial Roy, Donmez, Aguilar and Forsman hitting the wall with a time of 3:43.52.
On the other side of the natatorium, the Bulls would sweep the top seven spots in the three-meter dive. Freshman standout diver Adele Melamud took first in the event with a score of 288.15.
The second day of competition would go on to see six more Bulls victories in the pool and off of the board, beginning with a win in the 200-yard medley relay with the team of Roy, Pauly, Forsman, and Aguilar posting a time of 1:42.44. Forsman would go on to win her third event of the meet in the 100-yard butterfly smashing into the wall with a time of 54.93. The Bulls would produce another podium sweep in the 100-yard backstroke with Roy in first, Forsman in second and Aguilar in third, with times of 56.14, 56.96 and 58.09 respectively.
Forsman wasn't done yet, and later that day won the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 50.63. Aguilar would also earn another first place finish in the 200-yard butterfly earning a time of 2:03.77 and beating Niagara by just fractions of a second. The Bulls would close out the day in the pool with a win in the 400-yard freestyle relay with the team of junior swimmer Amanda Jurgelon, Forsman, Aguilar and junior swimmer Grace Rider anchoring to touch the wall at 3:24.82.
Saturday saw another first through seventh place sweep for the Bulls diving team in the 1-meter dive, where Melamud would take first place again with a score of 288.15.
Although unscored, this meet showed amazing performances for the Bulls swimmers, especially the sprinters, while also reminding everyone of the dominance of the Bulls diving program.
You can catch the Bulls in action next week Dec. 4th through 7th, in Akron, OH at the Zippy invite for some in-conference competition.
Ciah Courtney is an assistant sports editor and can be reached at ciah.courtney@ubspectrum.com
