For seniors on the swimming and diving team, Friday's meet against St. Bonaventure was the final opportunity to compete at the Alumni Arena Natatorium. Using this as momentum, both the men's and women's teams gave fans a show, defeating St. Bonaventure on their terms.
Before the start of the meet, seniors Kevin Schuster and Rachel Sorg were honored.
"My four years here at UB have been very fun," Schuster said. "I never thought it would come to an end, but I enjoyed every moment of it."
The women (7-2) continued their hot streak with a 139-97 win against the Bonnies (6-4). The victory is their fourth in a row.
"I was very pleased with the way they raced," said head coach Andy Bashor. "Overall, the women raced well and showed good effort in today's victory."
The women started off the duel meet on the right note with a first place finish in the 400-medley relay in 3:57.50. Sophomore Jordan Deren continued the Bulls' success in the 1,000-yard freestyle, winning with a time of 10:36.21.
St. Bonaventure took first in the 200-yard freestyle, but the Bulls bounced back with a first place finish from sophomore Jessie Koltz in the 50-yard freestyle. Junior Jessica Ballard followed with a win of her own in the 400-yard individual medley for the Bulls with a time of 4:34.47.
The divers took front stage in the one-meter springboard. Finishing first and second for the Bulls was junior Meili Carpenter and junior Ursula Jeske. The duo would capture the first two spots in the 3-meter springboard as well.
After a Bonnies sweep in the 200-yard butterfly, the Bulls rebounded by way of a first place finish by junior Sam Palma in the 100-yard freestyle. A St. Bonaventure victory in the 200-yard backstroke preceded a win by Deren in the 500-yard freestyle for her second win.
The Bulls then finished first and second in the 200-yard breaststroke. Ballard earned her second victory of the meet with a time of 2:24.56.
The men's team (4-3) completed the sweep against St. Bonaventure, beating the Bonnies (6-3), 131-111. The victory marked their second in a row.
Buffalo started its meet with a win in the 400-medley relay. Freshman Jake Sangren, junior Kevin Song, junior Scott Woster, and senior Zach Ruske all contributed to the first place finish with a time of 3:31.63. Junior Connor Vander Zalm followed with a first place finish in the 1000-yard freestyle.
After a Bonnies first-place finish in the 200-yard freestyle, the Bulls recovered with a first place finish in a tight 50-yard freestyle race. Freshman Chad Miller touched first and finished with a time of 21.60, squeaking past the Bonnies' Pat Henahan by a 100th of a second.
St. Bonaventure then finished first and second in the 200-yard individual medley, reducing the Bulls' lead to four points. To compensate, Buffalo's divers would regain momentum, finishing first and second in the one-meter springboard.
Junior Michael McDowell received a score of 338.54 and sophomore Clayton Sutton received a 289.50.
After Buffalo dropped the 200-yard butterfly, Miller finished first for the second time with a new personal best time of 46.86 in 100 yard freestyle. The Bulls then swept all three places in the 200-yard backstroke. Ruske came in first with a time of 1:52.07 with junior Andrew Tamchyna and Sangren completing the sweep. Vander Zalm followed with his second victory in the 500-yard freestyle.
McDowell followed with another diving victory. He took the three-meter event with a score of 324.37. St. Bonaventure grabbed a couple victories from that point, but the Bulls had already gained enough points in the previous races to achieve the victory.
"The men swam really well," Bashor said. "They showed great effort in the win. "It was the first time we beat the Bonnies since 2000, so it was a very good win and a step in the right direction."
The men's team has three weeks to prepare for the MAC/Sun Belt Championship meet, held in Nashville, Tenn. on Feb. 18-21.
The women's team, on the other hand, is still not done with regular season play. They will travel to MAC rivals Bowling Green and Toledo next weekend before competing at the MAC/Sun Belt Championship. Their meet at Bowling Green on Friday will begin at 5 p.m.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
