After more than a month since its last meet, the State University of New York at New Paltz is back in Elting Pool to compete in a dual meet against SUNYAC rival SUNY Cortland.
 
The Hawks' last three meets were either canceled or postponed due to COVID-19 protocols, including the originally scheduled meet against the Red Dragons Jan. 14. Thursday's meet against Cortland will serve as SUNY New Paltz's home opener and more than half of the team's first-ever home meet of their careers after last season was canceled due to the pandemic.
 
"It's definitely going to be exciting, especially last year I didn't get a season that I wanted to," said Hawks sophomore Brian Larossa. "This is my first home meet as well as the freshmen, so the energy is definitely there and we're ready to bring it." 
The last time SUNY New Paltz competed was Dec. 3-5 at the TCNJ Invitational, swimming against the hosting Lions, United States Merchant Marine Academy and Salisbury University with the Hawks placing third on both the men's and women's sides.
 
In the meantime, SUNY New Paltz has been working hard in the pool to prepare for its meet against the Red Dragons. The two teams faced off at the Cortland Pumpkin relays Oct. 30, but Thursday's meet will be the first traditional dual meet between the SUNYAC rivals since Jan. 10, 2020. Cortland won on the men's side, 153-104 and the women's, 149-102.
 
"We've been doing a lot of aerobic work and drill work in practice, working on our starts and turns, making sure our technique is perfect and efficient enough to swim," LaRossa said.
 
The Red Dragons also had a long hiatus since their last meet but will host Oswego Wednesday before heading to New Paltz Thursday. They are coming off a first-place finish on both their men's and women's sides at the Cortland Snow Flurries Invitational, placing ahead of Oneonta, Oswego, Buffalo State, Fredonia and Potsdam.
 
The Hawks will look to score some points on their sprinting events, as they have seen some promising races from a lot of their young swimmers.
 
"Our stronger events for the meet will definitely be our sprint freestyle," said SUNY New Paltz freshman Chloe Jeffares. "We have a really good freshmen class with a lot of depth, so those will definitely be some races that will give us a leg up with Cortland.
 
The Hawks and Red Dragons are set to face off at 4 p.m. Thursday in Elting Pool.

Meet Preview Featuring Brian LaRossa & Chloe Jeffares


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