NEW ORLEANS - The University of New Orleans men's swimming and diving team needed to win the last three events to pick up a win while the women cruised as both teams defeated Incarnate Word on Friday afternoon at Tulane's Reilly Center.
UNO's men (1-1) took a 150-142 win while breaking nine school records on route to the school's first ever men's dual win in the history of the program, recently reinstated after 16 years of non-existence.
The Privateer women (1-0) jumped out early on UIW, pulling away even more down the stretch for a 183-114 dual victory.
For the men, they looked up at the Cardinals on the team scoreboard for a majority of the meet before pulling within reach of the lead on a 1-2 finish in the 1-meter dive by Johnny DeMaine and Jonathan Field. DeMaine and Field had earlier swapped places with Field topping DeMaine in the 3-meter dive.
Ben Solari followed suit as part of a 1-3-4 finish for UNO in the 200 IM, setting the school record in the event with a time of 1:57.49, setting the stage for the final event, the 400 yard free relay.
The Privateer men held a six-point lead With a slim margin at 139-136 and needed a win. After a change in the original lineup, head coach Randy Horner watched as the relay team of Jarryd Gregoire, Jake Van Roekel, Petar Petrovic and Birkir Mar Jonsson held off two UIW teams with a school-record time of 3:09.24 to clinch the dual.
"Heading into the last few events, we told the guys about character and how our team, which is all freshmen, could step up to climb back in this thing," said Horner. "Our team showed total resilience."
Winners for the Privateers included school-record performances from Solari in the 1000 free (9:59.22) and Petrovic in both the 100 back (51.47) and 200 back (1:56.09).
While not winning, other records were set by 400 medley B relay team (3:41.18), Solari in the 200 breast (2:90.60) and Bo John Wullings in the 500 free (4:48.20), Gregoire added two more records to his haul with marks in the 100 free (47.76) and 100 fly (51.62).
For the women, the Privateers got off to a strong start, picking up a win in the 400 yard medley relay (4:01.25).
The team continued to get wins as Taylor Reynolds and Cristina Lay led all Privateers with three event wins. Reynolds claimed victory in the 200 back (2:10.71), 100 back (1:00.57) and 50 free (25.28). Lay picked up wins in the 100 fly (59.84), 200 fly (2:09.37) and 200 IM (2:11.77).
Amongst two-event winners were Eva Hannesdottir, who claimed the 100 free (54.21) and 200 free (1:57.82) and Kelly Swartzbaugh as she swept the top honors in both the 1-meter dive (226.35) and 3-meter dive (185.18).
Other wins on the day for the Privateers included Ashley McClelland in the 200 breast (2:29.92) and Sarah Gros in the 500 free (5:19.70). In addition to their 400 medley relay win, the UNO women also claimed the 400 free (3:40.32).
"The women performed very strong with four freshmen taking multiple individual events in their first collegiate event," said Horner. "Our veterans also came through with strong finishes and were critical to our relay success. Together as a unit, the women got off to a solid start that we look to build on."
The women will next be in the pool at home on Oct. 24 against North Texas, while both teams will then hit the road for a two-day swing against Western Kentucky and Southern Illinois on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1.
