Led by some great individual and team performances, the Case Western Reserve University swimming and diving teams were able to sweep both the men’s and women’s titles at the Wooster Invitational. Going up against a fleet of other schools from around the region, the Spartans were able to use their depth and talent to separate themselves from the competition.

Winning this meet for the eighth consecutive season, the Spartan men were able to total 1,899 points to beat second place Westminster College by 650.5 points. Gannon University came in third place among the nine squads with 1,224 points.

The Spartan women were able to crush their 11 opponents as they scored 1,984.5 points, Wooster and Gannon tallied 1,350 and 1,237 points respectively to finish second and third. This was the women’s team’s third consecutive Wooster Invitational win.

Head Coach Doug Milliken had been emphasizing this meet with his team as he wanted to finish on a high note before break.

“I am beyond pleased with how we did,” he said. “In many ways, it could not have gone any better.”

Third-year veteran swimmer Suhan Mestha was particularly a bright spot for the Spartans as she had one of the best meets in recent CWRU swimming history. She recorded three NCAA Division III B-cut times and broke two school records.

Mestha placed second in the 50-yard freestyle with a B-cut time of 23.63. She was also a member of the winning 400-yard medley relay which recorded a school record time of 3:52.89. She won the 100-yard backstroke with a B-cut and school record time of 56.24. Lastly, she scored a B-cut time of 2:02.55 in the 200-yard backstroke. Mestha currently ranks third in the University Athletic Association in the 50 Free, fourth in the 100 Back and fourth in the 200 Back.

Milliken was incredibly pleased with the way his star performed this weekend.

“It felt like every time [Mestha] hit the water she was breaking a school record,” said Milliken. “For the men, Drew Hamilton had a very solid meet.”

This multi-day event was a new challenge for the Spartans but Milliken felt that they were able to handle that challenge in stride.

Moving forward, the team is resting for final exams and then heading into winter break. Milliken realizes at this point in the year academics have to be the focus for his student-athletes. At the same time, he hopes they don’t completely ignore the pool in the next few weeks.

After finals Milliken needs his squad to increase the intensity again.

He said,“Once finals are over and they head home, they will need to ramp up their training. We take our annual training trip in January and if they haven’t done what they need to do, then the second half of the season will be lost.”