The SUNY New Paltz men’s swimming team bounced back from last weekend’s loss defiantly. On Saturday, Nov. 9 at 1 p.m. the men traveled to Adelphi University to face the Division II Cougars. Going into the meet, the Hawks knew they’d have to put forth their best effort if they wanted to get their first victory of the season.
Adelphi’s pool is a little different than the majority of college swim team pools. Most pools have six lanes, yet Adelphi has only four lanes. This means less swimmers would score points, and the team with the quickest performing swimmers would win.
It truly was a match of ‘may the best swimmer win,’ and the Hawks proved it would be them with a prevailing 57-38 victory.
The men started out strong by capping their first win on their first event of the day, the 400-yard medley relay. Third-year Nolan West and second-years Luke Gamboli, Jared Finn and Mitchell Chappell worked together to win with a time of 3:45:33.
Chappell continued to have quite the day for the Hawks. His next victory took place in the 200-yard freestyle relay, earning a remarkable time of 1:49:06. Chappell’s freestyle time is now the third fastest in the SUNYAC so far. His achievements continued in the final event of the day, the 400-yard freestyle relay. Chappell was crucial to bringing the Hawks to another win with a final time of 3:19:48.
New Paltz is used to Chappell being a powerhouse for the team. As a first-year during last year’s SUNYAC Championship meet, Chappel set three personal best times in the 500, 200 and 100-yard freestyle relays. It seems he’s on a path to break even more records this year.
Second-year Ethan Bonney was another strong swimmer of the day, as he continues to perform highly in distance events for the Hawks. He competed in the 1,000-yard freestyle and came out on top, earning a crushing score of 10:08:74. His win puts him at the number one spot in the SUNYAC for that event. As if that wasn’t enough, Bonney went on to win the 500-yard freestyle and place second in the 200-yard backstroke.
New Paltz also claimed victories in the 100-yard freestyle and the 200-yard breaststroke. For the breaststroke, first-year Zac Brown secured first place. Second-year Akiva Garfield was right behind him, with the duo earning times of 2:24:36 and 2:24:97.
The Panthers did take some victories home of their own, clinching the wins in the 50-yard freestyle, 200-yard individual medley, 200-yard butterfly and the 200-yard backstroke. Regardless, their successes did not amount to an overall win as New Paltz triumphed 57-38.
The win brought the Hawks’ record to 1-1 overall. The Hawks will head across the river to face rival Vassar College, on Friday, Nov. 15 at 5 p.m. In 2018, the Hawks fell to the Brewers 143-117. Is there a great rematch ‘brewing’ for New Paltz?
