Binghamton, get set to get wet.

The 2007-2008 Binghamton University men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams began their season at the Western New York Invitational this past weekend. The Bearcats swam against regional opponents Canisius, St. Bonaventure and Niagara in a non-team scoring format.

The men’s team was highlighted by performances by junior Brenno Varanda and Andrew Palumbo. Varanda finished first in the 200 breast and 400 IM, while finishing second in the 500 free. Palumbo was strong winning the 100 breast and finishing second behind teammate Varanda in the 200 breast. The men’s team also had strong performances from freshmen Jason Chen and Kevin Kearney, winning the 200 IM and 100 back, respectively.

The women also performed well, led by Brittany Detlef and returning star Allyce Brand. Brand, who finished last season impressively, retained her form by finishing third in the 50 free. Yet, the most important part of the meet was the breakout performances by freshmen Lyndsi Worthington, Nicole Sheridan and Kelsey Anderson in their first collegiate performances.

‘We were really pleased by our initial performance. We are definitely looking forward to having a real dual meet at the end of the month,’ said head coach Sean Clark, ‘We’ll train hard for the next two weeks and see where the dual meet season leads us.’

The Bearcats will be short some notable star swimmers, especially the men’s team. Not returning will be last year’s co-captains Trevor Stone and Brian Koizim, along with all-conference and NCAA championship competitor David Holmes. The Bearcats will host their first home meet on Oct. 27 against Boston University.