Story by Samantha Williams
ALLIANCE, Ohio- The Wilmington College men's swimming team was back in Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) action this afternoon with a dual meet against The University of Mount Union. The Fightin' Quakers put up a good fight but ultimately fell to Mount Union 150-106.
Andrew Stewart led the way for the Quakers, securing two, individual first-place finishes. His first was in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 54.93. Stewart then took to the 100-yard freestyle and posted a first-place earning and in-season best, 47.53. He was then joined by Alex Tillapaugh, Lawrence Daya, and Cody Nash for a 200-yard freestyle relay. The quartet earned first with a time of 1:32.10.
In addition to his relay achievement, Nash took home an individual first-place finish in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:22.39).
The Quakers swept the 200-yard individual medley; David Bellus earned first (2:16.30), Frederick Rankin second (2:17.40), and Ian Darras third (2:21.33).
Daya, Tillapaugh, Stewart, and Rankin comprised the 200-yard medley relay to open the meet. This group earned second with a time of 1:42.04.
Other second-place finishes throughout the meet included: Samuel Shanes in the 1000-yard freestyle (11:25.31), Rankin in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:03.76), Bellus in the 200-yard butterfly (2:11.43), Tillapaugh in the 50-yard freestyle (23.25), and Daya in the 200-yard backstroke (2:11.32).
"Today both teams had some great swims," says head coach Trip Breen. "Andrew Stewart was sick last week and didn't have the chance to race. He had a good meet today, winning two individual races. His 100-freestyle was his best in-season time. Cody Nash won the 200-breast; he put together a great race. He also swam the final leg on the 200 freestyle relay. We were behind when he hit the water and he swam his lifetime best 50 to win the race for us.
"We're looking forward to another week of training as we prepare for JCU and then we will have an opportunity to start [preparing for our championship meet]. This is always an exciting part of the season."
Wilmington is back in action at home Saturday at 1 p.m. in an OAC dual meet against John Carroll.
