This past Friday and Saturday, the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams hosted two meets against the Malone Pioneers and St. Vincent Bearcats. The men’s team was able to take home two competitive victories by scores of 151-118 and 142-138, respectively. Unfortunately, the women’s team did not fare as well against their opponents, losing by scores of 154-79 and 156-88.

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Against the Pioneers, the men’s team picked up a key non-conference win heading into the weekend. Malone could not keep up with Behrend’s talented roster, as Mark Patterson continued a rather impressive season with four total wins on the day, two coming from individual events. Liam Watterson claimed two wins in the 50 yard and 100 yard backstroke events. Alex Croll took home first place in the 100 yard freestyle and second place in the 50 yard butterfly. Matthew Kuchcinski had two second place finishes in the one and three yard dives. Also, Behrend placed first and second in the 200 yard individual medley and 50 yard breaststroke, as Steve Owens and Blair Carson had strong showings in those events.

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The Lions continued their long winning streak with a slim win against the St. Vincent Bearcats on Saturday. This meet was tight throughout, with each side trading places and points until the final relay event. In the final relay, Behrend took second and third place at times of 1:29.16 and 1:32.39, respectively. The second place team was comprised of Croll, Patterson, Watterson and Quinn Fischer. The third place team was comprised of Jacob Schmidt, Dillon Scheidemantle, Justin Spence and Ryan Siggins. Kuchcinski was able to win the one meter and three meter diving events this time around, while David Ewing took first in the 1000 yard freestyle. Noah Babik also had an individual win on the day, edging out the runner up by .13 seconds in the 200-yard breaststroke.

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Despite the success the men’s team had, the same cannot be said for the women’s team over the two day stretch. On Friday, the Lions suffered a 75 point loss to the Pioneers. However, the Lions had some impactful individual performances. Gwendolyn Lowery took first in the 100 yard butterfly and 100 yard freestyle while taking runner up positions in the 200 yard individual medley and as part of the 200 yard relay team. Maryn Horn, who was a part of that relay team, also claimed victory in the 50 yard backstroke and was runner up as part of the 200 yard medley relay. Abigail Witmer placed second in two events, those being the 100 yard butterfly and 100 yard backstroke.

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Things did not get much better for the women’s team on Saturday, as they fell to St. Vincent by 68 points overall. Again, there were strong individual performances, but unfortunately that did not translate to team success. Horn again impressed with wins in the 100 yard backstroke, 100 yard freestyle and as part of the 200 yard freestyle relay team. Lowery, Jessica Wyckoff and Paige Lorson assisted Horn in the victory. Lowery won the 200 yard individual medley and came in third in the 200 yard freestyle.

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The Lions are currently gearing up for the AMCC Championships next week, which will begin on February 14 at 1 p.m. in the Junker Center.