Chicago, Ill., Nov. 7, 2015 – The Washington University in St. Louis men's swimming & diving team won 10 events en route to a 187-101 win in a dual meet at the University of Chicago Saturday afternoon. The WashU women's team won five events, but came up short in the dual as the Maroons won 165-135.
Junior Michael Lagieski was part of three first-place finishes for the WashU men. He clocked a season-best and B-cut time of 56.90 to win the 100 breaststroke. Junior Reese Frerichs placed second in a season-best time of 58.56. The duo also took the top-two spots in the 200 breaststroke with times of 2:08.07 and 2:11.14, respectively.
Lagieski also teamed with freshman Kevin Van Cleave, senior Reed Dalton and sophomore Justin Morrell to win the 200-medley relay by more than two seconds with a time of 1:32.55. Morrell also earned an individual first-place finish for the Bears, winning the 200 free in a season-best 1:43.01.
Dalton led a first- through fourth-place sweep for the Bears in the 100 butterfly with a time of 49.82. He was followed by freshmen Brandon Lum (50.87), Jason Hsu (52.43) and Andrew Pek (52.81). Lum swam a season-best and B-cut time of 1:51.71 to win the 200 butterfly, while Hsu was second in a season-best 1:54.47.
Sophomore Nicole Zanolli accounted for three of WashU's five event victories for the women's team. She swam a B-cut time of 4:34.25 to win the 400 individual medley by more than two seconds. Zanolli also swam season-best times to win the 200 free (1:55.82) and 500 free (5:06.96) events. Junior MariMac Collins was second in the 200 free in a season-best time of 1:56.74.
Sophomore Ryan Nathenson bested teammate Fernando Rojo for first in both men's diving events. Nathenson posted a season-best score of 225.75 to win the one-meter diving, while adding a first-place finish in the three-meter event with a score of 194.63.
Junior Andrew Ellison led a 1-2-3 finish for the WashU men in the 1,000 free. He swam a season-best time of 9:48.10 to win, while sophomores Jaron Cook (10:06.08) and Landon Bennett (10:10.73) also swam season-bests to finish second and third, respectively. Freshman Jordan Wheeler won the Bears' 10th event on the men's side, swimming to first in the 400 IM with a time of 4:12.51.
Senior Sophie Gan and sophomore Niamh O'Grady both swam season-best times to take first and second in the women's 200 breaststroke. Gan won the event in a time of 2:25.25, while O'Grady was second in 2:29.95. Senior Amanda Stadermann also had a first-place finish for the WashU women, winning the 200 butterfly in a season-best 2:08.71.
The WashU men's and women's swimming & diving teams return to action Saturday, Nov. 21, at the Illinois Wesleyan Invitational in Bloomington, Ill.
