The New York University men's swimming and diving team started off its dual meet season with a 149-94 victory against Division II West Chester University of Pennsylvania on Saturday, October 11, at the Palladium Athletic Facility in Manhattan.
The Violets showcased their depth and talent, winning 8 of the 11 events in the season opener. The trio of sophomores Teddy McQuaid, Maksym Nechydyuk and Hodge Dauler most notably went 1-2-3 in the 200-yard backstroke.
Standouts in other individual events included Pierce Downs, who won the 100-yard freestyle in 45.97, and Misha Kabunov, capping a stellar swim with a time of 1:42.80. Freshman Adam Mekrami placed second in both distance events, the 1000 and the 500.
Nechydyuk continued his dominant streak from last season, securing first place in the 200-yard individual medley (1:53.60), and second place in the 200-yard backstroke (1:52.50) and the 200-yard breaststroke (2:08.68). The Violets concluded a successful meet with a victory in the 200-yard freestyle relay.
"I'm incredibly proud of how the team showed up today," said Head Coach Trevor Miele. "It was a great performance from everyone and considering that they've been training hard for the past few weeks, it's no surprise. They raced better than I expected. It's a good start. I look forward to the upcoming weeks of training and racing."
The divers kicked off the meet on Saturday morning. NYU's Makai Harder and Nolan Jennings filled out the podium places behind West Chester's Boden Burkhart in both the 1m dive and the 3m dive. Jennings took second in the 1m with Harder in third. Harder took second in the 3m dive with Jennings in third.
"Makai and Nolan are beginning to compete their harder dives very early in the season," said NYU Diving Head Coach Todd Kolean." Saturday was a great day for NYU diving."
The Violets will look to carry this momentum into their next competition as they continue their season. They return to action for a diving-only competition at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Go Red Diving Invitational in Troy, NY, on Saturday, October 25. Meanwhile, the men's swim team travels across the city to Columbia University for their meet on Saturday, November 1.
