New Paltz, NY — The State University of New York at New Paltz swim team will head into Saturday's tri-meet against Hartwick and SUNY Oneonta with some strong momentum. 

On Oct. 6, the group finished second on both the men's and women's side at the Cortland Pumpkin Relays, their second second-place finish in the last five years at the event, and on Nov. 6, they emerged victorious at Western Connecticut State, 161-46 and 166-42 for the men's and women's, respectively. 

This week, the men will look to avenge 2019's loss to the Hawks, who defeated them 156.5-100.5 two years ago. On Jan. 25, 2020, they bested the Red Dragons, 121-83. The SUNY New Paltz women have faced Hartwick twice, winning 158-122 in 2017 and falling 142-199 two years ago. In 2020, one of the women's three wins was a 108-95 defeat of the Red Dragons, whom the Hawks' women's side has never lost to in the 12-year history of the program. 

"I hope we bring the same energy that we brought to our first two contests," said SUNY New Paltz coach Matthew Distler. "Oneonta and Hartwick will challenge us on both sides and we will bring our best if we want to walk out with a few wins." 

So far this season, the Hawks have brought their best to the table, as they are coming off a very impressive showing at Western Connecticut State, where the team dominated in all areas. SUNY New Paltz A, B, and C teams in the women's 200 yard medley relay took three of the top four spots in the day's first event, with a top time of 2:02.38. They also took the top three spots in the men's relay, with a top time of 1:46.36 and earned 11 points in both events. 

The Hawks also yielded two of the top three finishes in the women's 1,000 yard freestyle, and three of four top finishes on the men's side in that event. In the 200-yard freestyles, they garnered three of the top five on the women's side and three of the top four — including the top three — on the men's side. Kathryn Kolar won two events for the SUNY New Paltz women, touching first in the 1,000-yard freestyle and 200-yard individual medley, with times of 12:09.79 and 2:26.32, respectively. Owen Rowlands won two events for the men, as did Luke Hoyt. Rowlands won the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:53.45, as well as the 100 backstroke in 1:00.10. Hoyt won the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:06.25, and the 200 individual medley with a time of 2:13.18. Overall, both squads won 19 of 26 events and have a ton of momentum heading into the weekend. 

"I've been very impressed with our team's leaders," said Distler. "Both in and out of the pool. Leo [Litovsky], Natalia [Giunta], Zac [Brown] and Kelly [Donlevy] have really contributed to the success of our younger swimmers this season." 

The Hartwick men are 4-0 thus far on the year, with the Hawks having defeated SUNY Delhi by a score of 211-53, Utica 236-23, The College of Saint Rose 238-8, and Nazareth 189-98, all from their home of Moyer Pool. On Oct. 16, they finished second in their home Hartwick Relay. The women are 2-2, as they placed fifth at the Hartwick Relay, defeated both the Pioneers and the Broncos (178-56 and 182-22), and lost to the Golden Knights 153-101 and Nazareth 207-87. 

The Red Dragons' men's team has had mixed results on the season so far, with two victories and two losses. They placed fourth in the Hartwick Relays, and lost 126-115 at SUNY Oswego on Oct. 23 and 175-109 on Nov. 7 at RPI. Their wins have come at The College at Brockport (195.5-98.5), and The College of Saint Rose (181-97). The women have had a tough go so far, placing fourth at the Hartwick Relays and falling to Oswego, Brockport, RPI and Saint Rose by scores of 147-93, 161-135, 174-114, and 178-105, respectively.

Although all three teams will compete in the same pool, the event will be scored as dual meets against each opponent individually. 

"Having three teams and running a 16 event format is always a great opportunity for everyone to have competitive races throughout the meet," Distler said. "I am looking forward to seeing them all have great swims this weekend."

SUNY New Paltz men's side has defeated SUNY Oneonta in all the 23 times that they have met in swimming competition, with the matchups dating back to 1996. The Hawks have had five lifetime meets against Hartwick, winning one of five matchups. The two schools started competing against one another in 2006, with the lone victory for SUNY New Paltz coming in October of 2007, 119-78 and 103.5-101.5.  

If the Hawks are to win Saturday, it will be the team's first 2-0 start since 2016-2017 season, when they finished 3-0 and finished second at the SUNYAC Championships. 

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