Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College

Senior captain Stephanie Tropper and the Bates swimming and diving teams swept Wesleyan in a dual meet on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (File photo)

Swimming and Diving 11/23/2024 11:25:00 PM Aaron Morse

Swimming and diving sweeps Wesleyan in season-opening dual meet

MIDDLETOWN, Conn. -- The Bates swimming and diving teams started their 2024-25 campaign on the road with a convincing sweep of Wesleyan in a dual meet Saturday at Webster Family Natatorium.

The Bates women's team outscored Wesleyan 173-118 while the Bates men's team outscored the Cardinals 196-84.

"I am very proud of the team and the fight they showed," head coach Peter Casares said. "We've trained exceptionally hard these past two weeks and they fought some sickness that ran through the team. Senior captain Stephanie Tropper (Solon, Ohio) and first-year Nate Oppenheim (Easton, Conn.) were both undefeated and led their respective teams in points scored."

Bates Women's Highlights

The Bobcats swept the top two spots in the 200-yard medley relay, with first-year Erin Barisonek (New Vernon, N.J.), sophomore Sarah Palmer (Brunswick, Maine), sophomore Emily Kalvaitis (Darien, Conn.), and Tropper winning the race in 1:48.26. First-year Kendall Keshen (Santa Barbara, Calif.), sophomore Amber Zeng (South Windsor, Conn.), junior Emma Burke (New Hartford, N.Y.), and sophomore Sarah Van Lonkhuyzen (Rockport, Maine) took runner-up honors in 1:51.31, edging the Wesleyan 'A' relay team by .27 seconds.
Tropper won the 1,000-yard freestyle in 10:55.70 and the 500-yard freestyle in 5:20.47.
Bates swept the top three spots in the 100-yard breaststroke, with Palmer winning in 1:05.60. Zeng finished in second place with a time of 1:08.90 and sophomore Caroline Mazgaj (Ellsworth, Maine) took third in 1:12.43.
Burke won the 200-yard butterfly in 2:08.12.
Kalvaitis took first place in the 50-yard freestyle in 25.55 seconds.
Keshen and first-year Taylor Rolefson (Piedmont, Calif.) went 1-2 in the 100-yard freestyle, with Keshen winning in 56.06 seconds. Rolefson touched the wall in 56.90 seconds.
Palmer, Zeng, and Mazgaj went 1-2-3 in the 200-yard breaststroke, as Palmer won the race in 2:24.96. Zeng touched the wall in 2:28.69 and Mazgaj finished in 2:37.17.
Burke and Kalvaitis finished 1-2 in the 100-yard butterfly, as Burke won the race in 58.84 and Kalvaitis touched the wall in 1:00.34.
Keshen won the 200-yard IM in 2:13.09.
Zeng, Kalvaitis, Rolefson, and Tropper teamed up to win the 200-yard freestyle relay in 1:41.50. Bates finished 1-2 in the race as Palmer, Burke, Van Lonkhuyzen, and first-year Elena Trundy (Bath, Maine) took second place in 1:43.61.

Bates Men's Highlights

Sophomore Tim Johnson (Brewster, Mass.), junior Marrich Somridhivej (South Windsor, Conn.), sophomore Collin Faraher (Madison, N.J.), and sophomore John Weigel (Iowa City, Iowa) won the 200-yard medley relay in 1:35.70.
Oppenheim, Johnson, first-year Ryan Amundson (Dublin, N.H.), and sophomore Ben Madan (Stamford, Conn.) took the top four spots in the 200-yard freestyle, as Oppenheim won in 1:43.87. Johnson touched the wall in 1:46.83 while Amundson and Madan finished with times of 1:51.48 and 1:51.56 respectively.
Somridhivej won the 100-yard breaststroke in 57.33 seconds.
Sophomore Liam Friedlander (Pittsburgh, Pa.), first-year Xander Theodos (Saint Louis, Mo.), and junior Trent Hieber (Granby, Conn.) took 1-2-3 in the 200-yard butterfly, with Friedlander winning in 1:57.27. Theodos was the runner-up in 2:01.42 and Hieber took third in 2:02.35.
Junior Vova Sosnovskii (St. Petersburg, Russia) was unopposed in 3-meter diving and tallied 164.63 points. He was also unopposed in 1-meter diving and recorded 155.85 points.
Weigel won the 100-yard freestyle in 47.52 seconds.
Johnson, junior Matthew Kunkiewicz (Hillsborough, N.J.), and sophomore Nicholas Danko (Newtown, Pa.) finished 1-2-3 in the 200-yard backstroke, with Johnson winning in 1:54.31. Kunkiewicz touched the wall in 2:03.60 and Danko recorded a time of 2:05.11.
Oppenheim won the 200-yard breaststroke in 2:05.13, the eighth fastest time in Bates history.
First-year Anton Kondratyev (Belle Mead, N.J.), first-year Connor Schaffel (Marion, Iowa), and Kunkiewicz took 1-2-3 in the 500-yard freestyle as Kondratyev won in 4:57.98. Schaffel finished runner-up in 5:02.78 while Kunkiewicz touched the wall in 5:03.82.
Oppenheim, Weigel, and Johnson went 1-2-3 in the 200-yard IM, with Oppenheim winning in 1:55.15, the ninth fastest time in Bates history. Weigel finished second in 1:57.64 and Johnson touched the wall in 2:00.42.
First-year Eyton Ng (Brooklyn, N.Y.), Somridhivej, Faraher, and Oppenheim won the 200-yard freestyle relay in 1:26.27.