Results
Amherst, Mass. – (January 28, 2023) – In a spectacular finish, the Fordham swimming & diving team had an amazing afternoon, earning its first-ever dual meet sweep at Massachusetts, while setting eight pool records.
The Fordham women began things with a 164-136 victory over the Minutewomen, record six of the Rams' eight pool records on the day. Then, trailing by 20 points with three events remaining, the Fordham men rallied back for 148-145 win over Massachusetts. This was the first-ever dual meet win for Fordham at UMass since joining the Atlantic 10 and only the second win overall (2017 - home).
The day began with Fordham sweeping the 200 medley relay events. The women's team of
Leire Martin,
Emma Shaughnessy,
Jessica Zebrowski and
Megan Morris won the event in a pool record time of 1:45.89, while the men's team of
Christian Taylor,
Paris Raptis,
Nicholas Chao, and
Taras Zherebetskyy won in a time of 1:32.28.
The Rams then began their individual wins with
Clare Culver taking first in the 1000-yard freestyle in 10:28.90.
The next two wins came from the men, as
Alex Wilhelm won the 200 freestyle event, as he clocked in with a time of 1:42.89, while Taylor won the 100 backstroke in 50.07 seconds. Then it was back to the women's wins in the 100 breaststroke, which saw Shaughnessy take first in a time of 1:04.85.
It was a Fordham sweep in the 200 butterfly, as Zebrowski posted a pool record winning time of 2:03.82, while Raptis grabbed first for the men in 1:50.93. The duo later posted pool records in the 100 butterfly event, when Zebrowski went 55.85, while Raptis went 48.50.
Chao then capped the first half of the meet with the top time in the 50 freestyle event in 21.08 seconds, while Zherebetskyy opened the second half by winning the 100 freestyle in 45.83 seconds.
Up next, it was two more pool records for the Rams, where L. Martin posted a winning time of 2:01.80 in the 200 backstroke, while A. Martin did the same in the 200 breaststroke in 2:16.34.
Millie Haffety then chimed in by winning the three-meter diving event with a score of 298.95, after finishing second in the one-meter event (256.20).
The meet came down to the final two events, where Fordham started with wins in both editions of the 200 individual medley. A. Martin posted her second pool record of the day in 2:03.89 to secure the women's team win, while Wilhelm earned his second win in 1:53.24, giving the men a shot for the team victory.
In the final event, Fordham's top men's relay of Raptis, Taylor, Chao, and Zherebetskyy won the event in a pool record time of 1:23.14, but just as important was the Rams' "B" relay of
Taz Kanjanakaset,
Alexander Shah,
Michael Biryukov, and
Vitalis Onu, which grabbed third in 1:25.02, snaring the final two points to clinch the meet win for the men.
The Rams will wrap up their regular season meet schedule on Wednesday, February 1
st, with a tri-meet against Wagner and St. Francis Brooklyn, beginning at 5:00 PM.
RAMSES CHALLENGE: As a part of a new fundraising challenge this season, fans can pledge support for the team in the Ramses Challenge for each event the swimming & diving team wins this season. Following today's meet, the count is up to 151.
Be a part of the challenge by clicking here.
