RESULTS: New Paltz, NY — The State University of New York at New Paltz swimming team entered its first State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) dual meet Friday eager to triumph over conference rival SUNY Cortland, but ultimately fell short, 141-118 on the women's side and 167-95 on the men's.
 
The Hawks were unable to rack up enough points to defeat the Red Dragons; SUNY Cortland placed first in 19 of the 28 events. Despite the loss, SUNY New Paltz fought dutifully until the end due to support from program alumni and fans in the stands. The bleachers were painted with a sea of blue and cheers of encouragement from past Hawk swimmers.
 
"We have exceptional people on this team, both past and present," said SUNY New Paltz coach Tom Eickelberg. "They do such a great job reminding us of the important things about the lessons we learn here, and how important the relationships we have here can be after graduation."
 
The Hawks boasted many standout performances, beginning at the first event: the women's 200-yard individual relay. Junior Chelsea Angulas, sophomore Lindsay Kranitz, and seniors Katie Donlevy and Jaimie Kaefer dominated with a time of 1 minute, 53.37 seconds — six seconds faster than the second place Red Dragon's relay.
 
Kaefer kept her momentum going with a second place finish in the 200-yard freestyle (2:03.79) and a first place finish in the 200-yard individual medley (2:18.73). Angulas touched first in the 100-yard backstroke (1:01.30), followed by sophomore Tessa Griger (1:02.66) for second and senior Nicole Lee (1:03.84) for third. Griger placed first in the 200-yard backstroke about four seconds ahead of SUNY Cortland swimmers, clocking in with a time of 2:17.11.
 
Sophomore Lindsay Kranitz secured two second place finishes in 100-yard and 200-yard backstroke events, clocking in 1:12.47 and 2:37.96, respectively. Sophomore Natalia Guinta was the lone SUNY New Paltz swimmer in the 200-yard butterfly, finishing second with a time of 2:33.77. Lee (25.49) and Angulas (25.55) finished second and third in the 50-yard freestyle, respectively. The women also scored consecutively in the 100-yard freestyle as Donlevy (56.40) scored second, Lee (57.32) third and Kaefer (57.35) fourth. Freshman Victoria Bogdanski swam a brutal three-straight events, but preserved to score fourth in the 200-yard backstroke (2:28.53), fifth in the 200-yard breastroke (2:58.55) and sixth in the 500-yard freestyle (6:06.93).
 
The men began their individual races strong with senior Barrett Celecki and freshman Ethan Bonney touching first and second to the wall in the 1,000-yard freestyle with times of 10:14.01 and 10:16.99, respectively. Celecki was up to race again in the next event, the 200-yard freestyle, where he secured another first place finish (1:49.11), followed by freshman Jared Finn for third (1:53.53). Senior Yaya Toure placed third in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 58.09, following a Red Dragon swimmer by just four hundredths of a second. The men finished consecutively in the 100-yard freestyle, as senior Matthew Kessler snagged second (23.35), sophomore Mitchell Chappell third (23.39) and junior Matthew Pero fourth (23.97).
 
Finn and Chappell returned to take first (50.47) and third (51.31) in the 100-yard freestyle. Celecki stole a third first place finish of the meet in the 500-yard freestyle, clocking in with a time of 4.59.00, followed by Bonney in third (5:05.38). Freshman Luke Gamboli was third to the wall in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 56.49, while senior Joseph Galante finished third in the 200-yard individual medley (2:08.66).
 
Although the scores made it apparent by the final event that SUNY Cortland won the meet, the Hawks refused to give up and made sure the 400-yard freestyle relay was an exciting finish to the competition. The women's team of Donlevy, Lee, Angulas and Griger blew the second place Red Dragon team out of the water by about five seconds, clocking in with a time of 3:47.36. The men's relay of Finn, Chappell, Celecki and Kessler narrowly missed first place by less than a second, finishing in second place with a time of 3:20.67.
 
SUNY New Paltz will be back in the pool Jan. 16 to swim against SUNY Purchase and St. Joseph's College in Purchase, NY at 4 p.m.

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