While many college students on campus had been celebrating Halloween, the Boston University swimming and diving groups had been within the BU Fitness and Recreation Center’s Competition Pool for a double twin meet towards Army West Point and Boston College on Friday night.
Women’s swimming and diving (2-2, 1-2 Patriot League) ended the meet with break up outcomes: a 168-75 win towards BC (1-4) and a 131-112 loss towards Army (6-3, 1-0 PL). The win towards the Eagles marks BU’s first victory over the crosstown rivals since 2019.
The males’s staff (2-2, 2-1 PL) fell quick to each groups, shedding 128-115 to the Eagles (3-2) and 135-108 to Army (4-3, 1-0 PL).
What these slim defeats don’t present are the positives threaded all through the night.
In simply the third meet of her collegiate profession, freshman swimmer Kiki Rampersad broke two faculty data.
First, she received the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 53.79, enhancing upon Emily Munday’s file set in 2010.
Rampersad additionally contributed to a brand new 200-yard freestyle relay file alongside an all-rookie squad of Molly Barber, Danka Ndubuisi and Lily Osborn. The group received the occasion with a time of 1:31.87, beating the file that was set final yr.
“I’m honestly super stoked, and I kind of shocked myself at this meet,” Rampersad stated. “I’m really proud of our women’s team so far. It’s not even the end of our midseason, and we’re doing so well.”
BU Head Coach James Sica stated Rampersad’s coachability and willingness to use suggestions has contributed to her fast progress.
“She radiates positivity, even early for those morning swims,” Sica stated. “She’s excited to do the work, and is really coachable. She takes feedback and implements it.”
Barber and Ndubuisi additionally contributed particular person outcomes to the win depend for the ladies’s staff: Barber received the 50-yard freestyle at 22.77, whereas Ndubuisi received the 200-yard particular person medley with a time of two:04.01 and the 100-yard backstroke at 55.30.
The males’s staff additionally discovered particular person occasion wins and successes all through the night.
Sophomore Giovanni Sullo received within the 500-yard freestyle in 4:31.06 and graduate pupil Tony Ponomarev received the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 48.92. On the diving aspect, junior Zein Mahana swept the 1-meter and 3-meter occasions with scores of 286.85 and 339.50, respectively.
Mahana had the help of rookie divers to make the Terriers’ diving presence salient. Freshman Ethan Wong, who was awarded a Patriot League Diver of the Week title earlier this season, completed second within the 3-meter with a rating of 290.00.
Freshman Tyler Robinson was the runner-up within the 1-meter with a rating of 269.50.
Sica stated the newscomers have “raised the bar” attributable to their aggressive drive.
“All of them have been making an impact,” he stated. “In practice, there’s always somebody pushing the limit of what they think might be possible, and that just makes everybody better.”
These are promising outcomes contemplating the energy of the competitors — Army boasted sturdy finishes finally season’s Patriot League Championships, the place the lads had been topped champions and the ladies completed in second.
Sica mentioned the significance of competing towards the Black Knights early within the season.
“There’s a reason that we schedule these meets in the fall, so that we can see good competition and know who we’re going to see in championship season in February,” Sica stated. “It helps us prepare, make adjustments and be at our best … If that’s where we want to be, that’s who we got to compete against.”
The Terriers now journey to central Massachusetts for a twin meet towards the University of Massachusetts Amherst Nov. 8 — their last competitors earlier than the annual midseason Terrier Invite.