After dominating the Florida International Sprint Invitational, only the Binghamton men’s swimming and diving team was able to continue its success on Saturday afternoon. The dual meet against St. Bonaventure resulted in a 166.5-133.5 victory for the men’s squad and a 165-133 loss for the women’s team.

Although BU was unable to pick up wins on both sides Saturday, the women’s loss won’t dampen their hopes of thriving at the America East [AE] Championship in mid-February.

“Our women’s team is shaping right up … kind of hitting their stride at this moment,” said BU head coach Brad Smith. “We didn’t pull of a win today, but if we had it would have been a big upset.”

The women’s team was only able to collect three individual victories. Junior Courtney Foley took first place in the 50 free (25.37) and the 100 free (54.66), while sophomore Brooke Pettis won the 100-yard butterfly (1:00.20). The women’s squad also notched a win in the 400-yard free relay with contributions from freshmen Kaitlyn Lange, Olivia Santos and Abby Koerwitz.

The men’s team had a notable day, recording eight individual victories and winning two relays in the contest. First-place finishes were achieved by senior Liam Cashin in the 100-yard breaststroke (58.99) and 200-yard breaststroke (2:10.66), sophomore Alex Brion in the 50-yard freestyle (21.75) and the 100-yard freestyle (48.09), freshman Cooper Langanis in the 500-yard freestyle (4:48.47) and sophomore Matthew DeVito in the 100-yard butterfly (52.98).

A main factor in the men’s victory was the performance of sophomore Zachary Kaplan. He took first in the 100-yard backstroke (53.48) and the 200-yard backstroke (1:55.41), and was part of the 200-yard medley.¶
“For [Kaplan] to have such a dominant performance today after just getting back from Florida and our winter training strip, where we train two days for a full week, was something special,” Smith said. “He led by more than a full body length in the 100-yard backstroke and the 200-yard backstroke against St. Bonaventure, which has some really strong backstroke swimmers.”

The men’s victory over the Bonnies marked their fourth straight win at home. The Bearcat men have thrived in their home pool, boasting an undefeated record at the West Gym with an average margin of victory of 60.5.

“When we swim at home, I swear they swim different — like going from three to four gears,” Smith said. “I think having the backing of the University, the students and the community is really huge for them, allowing both teams to thrive and feed off of the crowd.”

The women’s team is scheduled to host New Hampshire on Saturday at 10 a.m. from the West Gym in Vestal, New York. Both teams are then set to face Marist on Jan. 28 for another dual meet scheduled for 1 p.m. in Poughkeepsie, New York.