After a disappointing appearance at last years Bucknell Invitational, Binghamton University’s swimming and diving head coach Sean Clark prepared his teams to make a “big splash” this time around.
And they’ve done just that. The men’s team placed second behind host team Bucknell, something Clark was pleased with.
In Lewisburg, Pa., the Bearcats faced off against the College of New Jersey, La Salle, Towson and Bucknell during the weekend of Nov. 22 and 23.
BU’s women’s team placed fifth among six teams, that also included James Madison.
Sophomore Jason Chen edged out senior teammate Brenno Varanda in the preliminaries of a crowded 200-yard individual medley field of 38 swimmers. But it was Varanda who claimed the top stop in the finals with a time of 1:52.33. Chen captured second with 1:55.00. Varanda also coasted to victory in the 400 IM in 4:01.24.
“[Varanda] made a statement with some quality swimming,” Clark said. “That’s the best he has been this early in the season.”
Clark praised the whole senior class for all the work they have been putting in.
“It’s nice to see a little sparkle,” Clark said. “We have a great situation going on, with a big bunch of senior leaders making sure the freshman know what it takes.”
And it seems to be paying off, as the Bearcats received some help from the freshman class.
In the 1,650-yard freestyle, Nolan Slesnick placed second with a time of 15:54.27. In the 400 IM, Slesnick finished third in 4:04.96, touched the wall 3.52 seconds after Varanda.
Slesnick went on to set the freshman record in the three of his races.
Joe Perez-Rogers, another freshman, finished second in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 51.81. That time was a record for Perez-Rogers. According to Clark, Rogers went on to break that record when he led off during a relay race.
“He repeated his amazing performance,” Clark said.
Over at the diving section, senior Ryan Graham finished first in the three-meter with a score of 305.75. He also placed second in the one-meter board with 271.75.
Despite their fifth-place finish, the women’s team had great performances, Clark said.
Off the starting blocks, sophomore Amanda Ciccone touched the wall fifth in the 200 IM, 100-yard butterfly with times of 2:09.23 and 58.20, respectively. She also placed sixth in the 50-yard free in 53.27.
“[Ciccone] was our power performer,” Clark said.
In the 200 IM, Ciccone broke the Binghamton school record. What was even more amazing about Ciccone’s record-breaking race, Clark said, was the previous record holder for the 200 IM is BU assistant coach, Yun Qu.
A former Olympian, Qu swam for her native China in the 1996 Atlanta Games.
“Qu helped coach the next generation swimmer that broke her record,” Clark said.
Clark was quick to mention the women’s diving squad is not to be overlooked.
Kristin Maney placed first on the one-meter and fourth on the three-meter, with scores of 271.00 and 235.30, respectively. Maney broke the school record in the one-meter.
Six different women put times in the Binghamton all-time top 10 list, against challenging competition. Praising his women’s team, Clark was not concerned the final team standings of the Bucknell Invitational.
“That meet was a faster meet then our America East Conference championship,” Clark said. “It prepared us for February, when we get to mix up with our America East opponents.”
The Bearcats are back in the pool this Saturday, when they line up on the starting blocks and climb the boards versus Cornell University.
The meet takes place in the West Gym and begins at noon.