Swimming & Diving Recap
March 12
DiPlacido Named All-American
Graduate student Alida DiPlacido earned honorable mention All-America honors after posting an 11th place finish at the NCAA Championship on Friday. DiPlacido scored a 314.85 in the preliminaries, putting her in 11th place and into the consolation finals, where she held onto her 11th place standing with a score of 347.35. She is the first Syracuse female All-American in over 25 years.
DiPlacido also competed in the one-meter at the NCAA Championship. She came in 24th place with a score of 291.50. She earned six points for Syracuse at the meet, putting the Orange in a tie for 36th place in the final standings with Rutgers and South Carolina. This is her fourth All-American honor, after earning three as a freshman at Texas A&M.
March 5
DiPlacido Qualifies For Nationals In the Three-Meter
Graduate student Alida DiPlacido won the three-meter dive at the NCAA Zone A Championship, hosted by Rutgers, on Friday, and earned a slot in the NCAA Championship meet. DiPlacido led the three-meter event after the preliminaries with a score of 316.50 and more than doubled her score in the finals to finish with a score of 639.35. DiPlacido is the first Syracuse woman diver to reach the NCAA meet since Samantha Linke did so in 1997 and 1998. Linke also won the Zone A crown in the three-meter in 1997. She will be making her second appearance at the NCAA Championship. As a freshman at Texas A&M, DiPlacido was the only diver to reach the final in all three diving events. She placed third on the platform, fifth on the one-meter, and eighth on the three-meter.
February 19
Syracuse At the BIG EAST Championship
The Orange competed at the BIG EAST Championship in Uniondale, N.Y., Feb. 14-17. The Syracuse men's team finished in eighth place with 237 points and the women's team came in ninth place with 177 points.
Outstanding Alida
Graduate student Alida DiPlacido was named the BIG EAST's Outstanding Female Diver after she won both events at the championship meet. She won the one-meter with a score of 283.00 and the three-meter with a score of 306.25. DiPlacido became the first Syracuse woman diver to win both events and be named Outstanding Diver since Betsy Spiegel in 1983, the first year that the SU women's team competed at the BIG EAST Championship. Syracuse diving coach Jeff Keck was named the BIG EAST Women's Diving Coach of the Year, as well.
Orange BIG EAST Results
Freshman Alex Taraskin earned All-BIG EAST honors by placing third in the 500 free (4:25.76). Taraskin had a solid performance in his first conference meet, placing fifth in the 200 free (1:39.24) also. Senior Luk Boral placed seventh in the 200 breast (2:01.33), 10th in the 100 breast (55.86), and 13th in the 200 IM (1:52.17). Sophomore Catrina Roth came in 11th in the 200 back (2:04.72) and 14th in the 100 back (58.11).
February 12
Orange Closes Out Regular Season With Syracuse Invitational
The Syracuse swimming and diving team hosted Cornell in the Syracuse Invitational at the Webster Pool on Saturday, February 10. The event was not scored and served as a tune up for both schools before their conference meets.
Qualifiers Galore
Syracuse had several swimmers qualify for the BIG EAST Championship in a variety of events on Saturday. Sophomores Matt Brock (22.00) and Peter Gollands (22.19) both qualified in the 50 free. In the 200 IM, freshmen Arda Isikslan (1:58.40) and Moshe Kohen (2:00.96) both qualified for BIG EAST, as well. Sophomore Colin Murphy qualified in both the 100 (55.28) and 200 (2:01.27) back events. Freshman Kevin Alland (1:46.21) and Ben Santerre (1:46.03) qualified in the 200 free. Freshman Ryan Corcoran qualified in the 50 (22.08) and 100 (48.15) free. On the women's side, sophomore Catrina Roth qualified in the 100 fly (1:00.91).
February 5
Syracuse Splits Final Dual Meet of the Season
The Syracuse swimming and diving team split its final dual meet of the season at Villanova. The men’s team won 10 events to defeat Villanova, 155-83, while the women’s squad lost to the Wildcats, 138-95. The men’s team finishes the season 4-1 in dual meet competition and the women’s team is 1-4.
Boral and Taraskin Each Claim Two Wins
Senior Luk Boral and freshman Alex Taraskin each claimed two first place finishes. Boral won the 100 fly (51.48) and the 100 breast (57.30) Taraskin won the 200 free (1:42.72) and the 100 free (47.29). Freshman Kevin Alland had his first top finish in the 1,000 free (9:50.73) since the first meet of the season against Colgate.
Other Men's Highlights
Senior Wes Matson won the 500 free (4:48.39), freshman Glenn Kalata won the 400 IM (4:14.59), and freshman Arda Isiksalan won the 100 back (53.54). Matson and Kalata posted season-best times in their events. Senior Jeremy Thornton won the three-meter diving competition (273.05) and came in second in the one-meter (204.97).
Women's Team Highlights
Graduate student Alida DiPlacido won the three-meter diving competition (248.48) and came in third in the one-meter (224.32). It marked the first dual meet she did not win both boards and snapped her streak of four-consecutive meets with a school record-setting score. Junior Tory McKenna placed second in the one-meter (235.80) and the three-meter (244.50). Sophomore Catrina Roth won the 100 back (58.91) and sophomore Dani Stein won the 100 breast (1:07.75).
January 29
Orange Sweeps Seton Hall In Final Home Dual Meet
The Syracuse swimming and diving team swept visiting Seton Hall in a BIG EAST dual meet on Saturday, January 27, at the Webster Pool. The Orange was impressive in every event against the Pirates. The men won 12 events to defeat Seton Hall, 175-18, and the women claimed first place in every individual event on the way to a 179-116 victory. Syracuse’s men’s team is now 3-1 in dual meets, while the women’s team claimed its first dual meet win to improve to 1-3.
DiPlacido Breaks Record For Fourth-Consecutive Meet
Syracuse’s women were once again led by graduate student diver Alida DiPlacido, who broke the Webster Pool records on both boards. In the one-meter, DiPlacido score a 323.24, breaking the pool record 301.71 that she set against Colgate in the first meet of her career earlier this season. In the three-meter, her score of 378.68 broke the Webster Pool record of 319.95 that Doris Glen of Miami set in 1997 and eclipsed the school record score of 358.95 that DiPlacido set last week against Boston. She has now broken a school record in the past four meets. Junior Tory McKenna placed second on both boards for the Orange. She scored a 246.29 in the one-meter and a 288.52 in the three-meter, a season-high mark.
Women's Team Earns First Dual Meet Win
Syracuse's women's team won its first dual meet of the season in commanding fashion. Sophomore Sarah Manning dominated the distance freestyle, taking first place in the 500 (5:13.71) and the 1,000 (10:33.86). Freshman Katelyn Schumacher won the 200 free (1:57.49) and the 100 (59.98) and 200 fly (2:11.83). Sophomore Catrina Roth won the 100 (59.67) and 200 (2:08.05) back events. Sophomore Dani Stein claimed first in both the 100 (1:07.15) and 200 (2:26.19) breast events. Freshman Carolyn Delkus won the sprint freestyle events for the Orange, taking first place in the 50 (25.31) and 100 (53.98).
Men Post Big Win Against Seton Hall
On the men’s side, senior Jeremy Thornton and junior Patrick White combined to sweep the diving events. Thornton won the three-meter with a score of 276.68; his first top finish this season. White won the one-meter for the first time since the season-opener against Colgate with a score of 252.37. For the fifth meet this season freshman Alex Taraskin had multiple first place finishes. Taraskin won the 100 (47.06), 200 (1:42.35) and 500 (4:39.20) free events. This was the first dual meet that he won three events. Freshmen Arda Isiksalan and Moshe Kohen each won two events. Isiksalan won the 100 (51.96) and 200 (1:52.57) back events and Kohen won the 100 (52.31) and 200 (1:54.72) fly events. Senior Luk Boral won the 200 breast (2:03.45) and sophomore Matt Gerlach took first place in the 1,000 free (9:46.02).
January 22
Orange Splits Dual Meet at Boston
The Syracuse swimming and diving team split a dual meet at Boston Universityon Saturday, January 20, the first of the 2007 part of the season. The men's squad won eight events to beat Boston, 141-91, while the women's team lost to the Terriers, 126-117, despite winning seven events.
DiPlacido Adds to Record-Setting Season
Graduate student Alida DiPlacido started the 2007 portion of the season just as she left off in 2006. In the one-meter, DiPlacido broke the school record of 301.71 she set in the first meet of the season against Colgate with a score of 326.10. She is the only diver in Syracuse history to surpass the 300 point mark. In the three-meter, DiPlacido broke the Syracuse record for the third time this year with a score of 358.95. DiPlacido has posted a school record score in the three-meter for three-consecutive meets. She broke the school record at the Nike Cup in November and then surpassed that record two weeks later at the Rutgers Invitational.
Taraskin Leads Orange to Victory
Freshman Alex Taraskin posted wins in the 500 (4:35.12) and 1,000 (9:38.36) free events. Both times were personal-bests for Taraskin. In the 1,000 free, sophomore Matt Gerlach and freshman Ben Santerre both scored points for the Orange, placing second and fourth, respectively. Freshman Ryan Corcoran won the 50 free (22.31) with a season-best time. Syracuse claimed the top three spots in the 200 IM with sophomore Peter Gollands taking first place (1:57.53), followed by freshmen Glenn Kalata and Arda Isiksalan. Isiksalan won the 200 back (1:54.84). Sophomore Matt Brock won the 100 free (48.64) and freshman Moshe Kohen took the top spot in the 200 fly (1:55.32). Both times were their best of the season. Brock, Isiksalan, Kohen and senior Luk Boral comprised the Orange’s 400 medley relay team that claimed first place (3:28.79).
Manning, Roth Highlight Women's Performance
For the women, sophomore Sarah Manning had a strong day for the Orange, winning the 1,000 free (10:36.48) and placing third in the 500 free (5:09.18), with season-best performances in both events. Sophomore Catrina Roth won the 200 back (2:06.08) and senior Randi Beaulieu placed first in the 50 yard free (25.19). Junior Tory McKenna performed strong in the diving competitions, placing second in the one-meter (270.75) and third in the three-meter (262.35). The women also won the 400 medley relay (3:56.95) with the team of Roth, sophomore Dani Stein, senior Petra Zavadilova, and freshman Caroyln Delkus.
