MIAMI, Fla. - In their first bit of action in almost a month, the Manhattan men's and women's swim teams traveled to Miami and competed against Texas Christian University (TCU). Despite strong efforts in the diving and relay events, the Jasper women fell to the Horned Frogs 102-85 while the men dropped a 114-93 contest.
The Jasper men started things off with a clean sweep in the 200 medley relay. Lance Neuendorf, Mike Mackay, Christopher Reyes and Ryan Klages led the way, finishing in 1:39.88 seconds. Dallan Treanor, Dennis Daly, Rich Llewellyn and Scott Isaacs were close behind with a time of 1:44.73 seconds.
However, TCU would go on to place first in each of the next five pool events, taking over the lead. Mackay and Neuendorf helped to keep in close by taking second and third respectively in the 200 Individual Medley. Manhattan's next event win came in the 200 freestyle relay as Kevin Fitzgerald, Tom Fitzgerald, Erik Pepe and Johnny Chan combined for a time of 1:34.26 seconds. Mike DiMaria, Peter Hubbell, Marcus Gilliland and Michael Dalia took second.
Mackay would go on to be victorious in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 59.89 seconds and was followed by Daly (1:01.99 seconds) who took second. The event was capped off by another three team sweep in the 400 free relay led by the quartet of Reyes, Llewellyn, Treanor and Klages (3:40.34).
Arguably the most impressive performance of the day came on the diving board where Isaacs re-wrote Jasper history. The current record holder in both the 1 meter and 3 meter dives furthered his own mark to heights never seen before. In the 3 meter diving event, he became the first Jasper to ever eclipse the 200-point plateau with a total score of 230.33 points. He did the same thing in the 1 meter dive, scoring 205.95 points to break his own school record. That performance earned him "Co-Performer of the Meet" honors with Mackay.
As for the women, they opened up the competition with an impressive effort in the 200 medley relay. The team of Michaela Schatz, Ellen McTigue, Melanie Tam and Abagail Dempsey finished the event with a time of 2:09.81 seconds, narrowly edging teammates Kerry Schuermann, Madison Brown, Paige Raccioppi and Patricia Colton,
Colton, Schuermann and Brown all contributed well, putting up points in almost every event they competed in. The quartet of Whitney Perez, Nicole Maher, Tam and Kim Geissler ended up taking first in the 200 freestyle relay with a time of 1:58.27 seconds. That mark was just ahead of the relay team of Lauren Sciarrotto, Emily Orchowski, Kiersten Buelow and Dempsey (2:03.62 seconds).
Manhattan later swept every point in the 100 breaststroke as McTigue, Orchowski, Vanessa L'Heureux and Alyssa Maccarrone took the top four spots. The feat would be duplicated in the 400 free relay as three Jasper teams finished 1-2-3. Maher, Molly Russell, Beulow and Schatz combined to touch the wall first with a time of 4:22.55 seconds.
Meanwhile, MaryLynn McMahon was once again impressive in the 1 meter diving event. She picked up 190.58 points shattering her own school record of 161.93 points. Both she and Brown shared Co-Performer of the Meet honors for the women.
The Manhattan women return to the pool on Jan. 18 when they host Sacred Heart at 2 p.m. at Riverdale Country Day School. The Jasper men are off until Jan. 24 when they travel to Jersey City to take on Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) rival Saint Peter's.
