The Buffalo men's and women's swimming and diving teams were able to set some season-best performances at the Zippy Invitational hosted by Mid-American Conference (MAC) rival Akron. Over the three days of competition, the Bulls continuously gave their best as multiple athletes broke personal, school, and competition records in the pool.
The Buffalo women (2-3, 1-3 MAC) finished in second place in an 11-team field, with strong performances from individuals and relay teams. Buffalo's final score of 1,289 was only beat by MAC rival Ohio, who took the title.
On opening night, the Buffalo relay team of sophomores Andrea Lehner and Sam Palma, senior Meghan Lafferty, and freshman Jesse Koltz put on a show as they won the 200-yard freestyle relay in 1:35.33, beating both the previous meet record and the Buffalo record set in 2002.
Individuals helped the Bulls score on opening night too as Lehner set another meet record winning the 200-yard individual medley in 2:04.37, two seconds ahead of the second place finisher. Additionally, sophomore Melli Carpenter won the one-meter diving event with a six-dive total of 283.45, a new meet record.
On the second day of competition, Lehner was again the key to the Bulls' success. Individually Lehner broke a school and meet record in the 100-yard backstroke, winning in 56.27. Lehner also led off the Bulls 200-yard medley relay team, with Palma, Koltz, and sophomore Ashley Schaffert. The foursome won in 1:46.20, just four-hundredths of a second off the school record.
On the final day of competition, Lehner took her third individual victory as she won the 1650-yard freestyle in 17:08.78. Freshman Jordan Deren and sophomore Kim Dale also competed in the race finishing sixth, in 17:32.31, and ninth, in 17:45.47, respectively which were season bests for the swimmers.
In the 100-yard freestyle three Bulls reached the championship finals as Palma finished fourth in 52.78, Koltz finished fifth in 53.25, and freshman Catherine Scharf finished seventh in 53.33, her season best.
Ending on a high note, the Buffalo women claimed the final event of the meet, the 400-yard freestyle relay. The team of Palma, Koltz, Scharf, and Lafferty finished with a season best time of 3:30.68.
The Buffalo men (2-1, 1-1 MAC) finished the three-day meet in sixth place of nine teams with a score of 892.5. Xavier claimed the men's title with a score of 1,390.
The Bulls ended day one in fifth place following several strong performances. Sophomore diver Michael McDowell led the way as he set a new meet record on the three-meter springboard. McDowell broke the record he set at the meet last year, scoring 335.65 points on six dives, 87 points above the second place finisher. This was the third year in a row that a Buffalo diver set the meet record.
On day two, the Bulls performed well but dropped into a sixth place standing. McDowell set another record, this time on the one-meter springboard, breaking former Buffalo diver Cassidy Lynch's record as he scored 303.05 points on his six dives.
Several Buffalo swimmers pulled out third place finishes in the pool. Sophomore Connor Vander Zalm set a season best time of 4:13.56 in the 400-yard individual medley. Junior Kevin Schuster came in third in the 100-yard butterfly with a season best time of 51.50.
On the final day of competition, the Buffalo men had some of their best finishes. Vander Zalm took the championship in the 1,650-yard freestyle winning by more than 30 seconds over the second place finisher with a time of 16:20.52. Freshman Brandon Beckinghausen came in fourth place with a time of 17:09.60.
Junior Zack Ruske won the 200-yard backstroke in 1:51.59, just four one-hundredths of a second shy of the personal best he set in the preliminaries. Sophomore Andrew Tamchyna also competed in the backstroke final and finished fourth in 1:56.68.
The men and women will return to action on Jan. 11 at Binghamton. Meet time is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
