Women fall just short in 150-149 loss to Allegheny

The Veale Natatorium scoreboard might have been broken, but the Case Western Reserve University men’s swimming and diving team was rolling on all cylinders.  The Spartans won 15-of-16 events; all but the 100-yard butterfly, as they cruised to a 228-70 victory over the Allegheny College last Saturday, Jan. 19.

The women came up with the short end of the stick, however, and, despite three wins from junior Sara Tillie, fell to the visiting Gators 150-149.

The men improved to 12-2-1 on the season while the women fell to 6-9 overall.  The Gator men and women are now both 3-4-1.  The men are also ranked No. 22 in the second of three College Swimming Coaches Association of America polls on Dec. 13, 2012.

Junior Daniel Jacobson, who received his fifth career UAA Diver of the Week award with a win on both the one- and three-meter springboards, led the men.  The win was Jacobson’s second of the season, as he won the one-meter event with a score of 310.05 points, which hit a NCAA “B-Cut” mark.  He also won on the three-meter board with a tally of 281.50.

In addition to Jacobson, the men had two other double winners, as junior Sean Nickley won both breaststroke events and sophomore Alex Haufler took home blue ribbons in the 200-yard backstroke and 200-yard individual medley.

The Spartans also won all five freestyle events, each by different swimmers, as Elliott Kerbel won the 50-yard discipline in 21.69 seconds, junior Heath Hudgins won the 100 in 48.57 seconds, junior Scott McHenry won the 200 in 1:47.11, senior Chris Emr won the 500 in 4:59.20, and junior Matt Flaherty won the 1000 in 10 minutes 21.44 seconds.

Sophomore Andrew Bollinger also took home the 100-yard backstroke title with a time of 54.60 seconds while fellow classman Aaron Yeung won the 200-yard butterfly in 2:00.48.

The men also won both relays on the day as Bollinger, Nickley, sophomore Eric Hafuler, and Hudgins teamed up to win the 400-yard medley relay with a time of 3;32.53.  Eric Haufler and Hudgins then met up with freshman Aaron Tam and Kerbel to win the 200-yard freestyle relay with a time of 1:26.99.

The women were led by Tillie, who had three individual wins, taking home firsts in the 100- and 200-yard freestyles and the 200-yard individual medley.

Junior Maggie Dillione was the women’s only double winner, winning the 100-yard butterfly in 58.56 seconds and the 200-yard butterfly in 2:09.47.

The Spartans also picked up first place finishes from sophomore Sophia Colevas in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 2:14.67 and fellow classman Brianna Cain in the 100-yard breaststroke, who touched the fall first in 1:11.95.

The women also grabbed a victory in the 400-yard medley relay as freshmen Rachael Loek and Rebecca Pakradooni joined Cain and Dillione to finish first in four minutes, 10.19 seconds.

The Spartans will be back in the water this Saturday, Jan. 26, when they host Seniors’ Day against the women and No. 19 men of Ohio Northern University at 1 p.m.