Tartan Swimmers and Divers Sweep Meet with Allegheny

Jan. 20 - (PITTSBURGH, Pa.) – In their second straight home meet, the Carnegie Mellon University swimming and diving program swept a dual meet, this time with Allegheny College. The men took first in 14 events and swept the top three spots in six races on their way to a 172-109 win. The women needed the last two events of the day to overcome a tough day in the pool with a 160-138 victory.

Lone senior David Krzeminski (Grandville, Mich.) won both the 200-yard freestyle (1:45.18) and the 100-yard butterfly (50.79). His time in the butterfly tops his previous best of 50.98 and provisionally qualifies him for the national meet. Junior Michael Bailey (New Kent, Va.) joins Krzeminski as a two-event winner. Bailey won the 50 free and the 100 free with times of 21.80 and 47.59, respectively. Lastly, sophomore Ron Papa (Malabon City, Philippines/Cranbrook Kingswood) took the title in two events, the 100-yard backstroke (54.18) and the 200-yard IM (2:01.56).

When asked how to transition over to the University Athletic Association meet coming up in a few weeks, Krzeminski said, “It’s the little things that make the difference in making the final heat at UAA’s. Now we need to concentrate on our starts and turns so we’re ready to just dive in a focus on who’s next to us later.”

Also having great swims for the men were a pair of freshmen. John Johnson (Allentown, Pa.) won the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 1:57.94 and Jonas Altman-Kurosaki (New York, N.Y./Stuyvesant) won the 1,000-yard freestyle in 10:04.75.

In diving, freshman Joe Kopko (Washington, Pa./Trinity) placed second in both the 1-meter and 3-meter events.

Trailing by four points entering into the last two events, the women’s team came up with a huge sweep of the 200 IM and then took first in the 400-yard freestyle relay to seal the victory.

Junior Alex Kinzler (Pittsburgh, Pa./Plum) led the attack for the Tartans with a win in the 200 IM (2:15.32) and additional wins in the 100- and 200-yard breaststrokes. Her time in the 100-yard event (1:07.82) was .02 seconds off the “B” cut for nationals and her finish in the 200-yard event (2:26.37) made the cut but she already qualified for the event in a previous meet with a faster time.

Following Kinzler in the all important 200 IM was sophomore Allison Retotar (Gillette, N.J./Watchung Hills) and junior Sarah Lam (Huntington, N.Y./Cold Spring Harbor). Retotar touched the wall in 2:19.09 and Lam in 2:21.33. The relay team of senior Lucy Fortin (Rosemont, Pa./Harriton), senior Rebecca Obley (Irwin, Pa./Norwin), junior Amy Pischke (Pittsburgh, Pa./Penn Hills) and senior Jenny Sieger (Newtown Square, Pa./Radnor) finished in 3:50.30 to end the meet on a positive note.

“After the first diving break we pulled together and finished strong. It was important for us to remember what we work towards during practice and stick with it and focus,” commented Fortin. “I was nervous to start the relay knowing how important it was and knowing I could set the tone for the rest of the relay.”

“The rotation and switch of the relay in the end made us realize how important it was and that it needed to go well,” added Obley. “You pay attention to the person next to you and it motivates you to keep up and not lose the lead created by Lucy.”

In diving, sophomore Charlotte Jennings (Yardley, Pa./Notre Dame) won the 1-meter board with 205.05 points and the 3-meter board with 209 points.

As a group, the women won seven events and swept two. When asked about the team’s effort, Retotar said, “It shows we can work well as a team and we’re willing to work towards the same goal.”

The teams return to the University Center pool on the campus of Carnegie Mellon for their senior meet on Saturday, January 27 versus Westminster College. The meet is set to start a 1:00 p.m.