Last weekend the men’s and women’s swim teams traveled down to Chapel Hill, N.C., for their last shot at qualifying for Nationals. The weekend-long Janis Hape Dowd Carolina College Nike Invitational, hosted by the University of North Carolina (UNC) and Duke University, was highlighted by numerous personal-best performances and NCAA B cuts to cap off the last meet of the regular season.
On Friday, the Jays kicked off their first day in the pool with seven personal bests. To start, freshman Noah Frassrand took third in the 200 IM, posting both a personal-best time and an NCAA B cut in the prelim.
Next, freshman Christopher Arena led the Blue Jays in the 500 Free, clocking a time of 4:32, good enough for fourth place. Arena was followed by classmate Matt McGough, who earned a close fifth-place finish. Both of the freshmen posted personal bests in the event and NCAA B cuts.
The men’s team also had an impressive showing in the 400 Medley Relay, taking first place with a time of 3:26. The relay team was made up of seniors Ronan Corgel and Luke Johnson, as well as sophomores Jasper Van Cauwelaert and Matthew Garza.
The women also opened with many strong performances, which culminated in five personal bests and nine NCAA B cuts in just the first night of competition. The 200 Free Relay, consisting of senior Anna Wisniewski, sophomore Kristen Petersen, freshman Mikayla Bisignani and sophomore Alison Shapiro, posted a NCAA B cut time and also took first place in the event. Their time of 1:33 is the sixth fastest in program history.
Next, senior Courtney Cowan and freshman Emma McElrath finished two-three in the 500 Free, both posting NCAA B cuts. The Blue Jays came up big in the 200 IM, with four swimmers touching with NCAA B cuts. The Jays were led by sophomore Michelle Wang, who finished in third with a career-best time of 2:04. Following Wang were seniors Gwynnie LaMastra in fourth, Wisniewski in sixth and Kaitlin Jones in seventh.
For their efforts this past weekend, Wang and Wisniewski were honored by CollegeSwimming.com. Wang was named the women’s D-III Swimmer of the Week and Wisniewski the Independent Swimmer of the Week.
On the second day of competition, junior Erik Bostrom led the men in the 400 IM with a NCAA B cut time of 4:00, good enough for a second-place finish. Following Bostrom was McGough, who also posted a B cut time and third-place finish in the event.
Taking first place in the 100 Breast, junior Peter Lazorchak clocked an NCAA B cut time of 56.20. He was followed by his teammates freshman Marcelo Lauzurique and senior Colby Yu, who both placed personal-best times in the event.
Yu, in his senior season, trained through injury and ended his collegiate career on a high note.
“Gradually over my four years of college, I realized that swimming is more about the process,” Yu said. “I know that I worked hard this season, even with a broken hand, and because of that, no matter the results, I know I put in 100 percent.”
The men finished the second day with two more personal-best performances by junior Michael Wohl in the 200 Free and senior Austin Wilson in the 100 Free. Wohl’s time was also a NCAA B cut time.
Along with Wang, Wohl was named the men’s D-III Swimmer of the Week by CollegeSwimming.com for his performance at the Nike Invitational this past weekend.
The women had an equally impressive second day of competition, which was kicked off by a two-three-four finish in the 100 Fly. Leading the way was Wisniewski, who posted an NCAA B cut time, followed by juniors Natalia Rincon and Elizabeth Duncan.
LaMastra then raced in the 100 Breast, posting an NCAA B cut time and the fifth fastest time in program history. LaMastra was followed closely by Jones, who also got an NCAA B cut.
The third and final day of competition ended a historic weekend for the Blue Jays.
The men finished the third day by adding six more NCAA B cut times to their long list of qualifiers. Wohl posted another B cut time in the 100 Free, taking fourth place in the event.
Next, Lauzurique took first in the 200 Breast, posting a B cut time and a personal best. He was followed closely by Van Cauwelaert, who also posted a B cut time.
“What was so special about this race was that after all the training we went through together, we all achieved something important, whether it was a personal-best or NCAA B cut,” Yu said. “I am happy to have ended my collegiate career with my teammates who I trained the hardest with.”
The men finished off the weekend with a trio of NCAA B cuts in the 1650 Free. The Blue Jays were led by freshman Riley Mears, who posted a personal-best time and finished in third, followed by Arena in fourth and McGough in fifth.
The women finished off their weekend with five more NCAA B cuts in the third day of competition. Wang took second place in the 200 Back with a personal best in the event. In the 200 Breast, LaMastra posted a NCAA B cut time and the third fastest time in program history. Jones and sophomore Sonia Lin followed closely with two more B cut times in the event.
Finally the Blue Jays finished off the weekend with an exciting B cut performance in the 400 Medley Relay made up of Petersen and Cowan, senior Lena Bless and senior Sara Wujciak.
The Blue Jays will appear next at the NCAA Swimming & Diving Championship, which is set to take place in Indianapolis, Ind. from March 21 to 24.
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