November 7-8, 1997 - The Loyola College men's and women's swimming and diving team made their bi-annual trip to Western New York to take on MAAC rivals Canisius College (women only) and Niagara University on Nov. 7 and 8. The eight-hour bus trip was met with expected success on the women's side and bitter defeat on the men's side.
On Nov. 7, the women won every event against Canisius and soundly defeated the Golden Griffins by a score of 128-77 -- a score which doesn't reflect the dominant effort by the Hounds. The following day, the women defeated the Purple Eagles of Niagara by final tally of 145-98.
The men only had one meet over the weekend but it was a much tougher proposition. They were facing a Purple Eagles squad that had defeated them the past two years in both duel meet competitions and in the final standings at MAAC Championships. The men were determined to put an end to this trend. Expecting to be in a close meet, the Hounds were blown out early and could never recover, losing the meet by a huge 152-93 margin.
The Canisius athletics department dropped their men's swimming and diving program before the 1997-98 academic year. Sporting only a small women's team, the school in Buffalo, New York did not have much firepower to offer Loyola.
Triple winners for the Lady Hounds included sophomore Michelle Russo who finished on top in the 50 yard freestyle (26.80), the 500 yard free (5:27.89) and as a member of the winning 400 yard free relay which included freshman Brie Hawkins and sophomores Jen Wood and Christine Gahagan (3:56.40).
Freshman Hilary Flint was another triple winner as she added victories in the 100 yard butterfly and 100 yard breastroke (1:19.06) and as the lead-off backstroke leg of the winning 400 yard medley relay. That relay included Star Moran, Kate Nally and Gahagan (4:19.91).
Hawkins took top honors in three events. She added wins in the 1000 free (11:14.62) and the 100 free to go along with her relay victory.
Gahagan finished first in the 200 yard free (2:08.66) to make her a triple winner as well. Junior Kathleen Griffin took both diving competitions. Senior captain Stacey Brooks won the 200 yard individual medley and sophomore Jen Wood took the 100 yard backstroke.
The following day, the women continued their strong swimming against Niagara. Despite losing the opening medley relay, the Lady Hounds took control of the meet with back-to-back wins by Russo in the 1000 yard free (11:16.20) and Hawkins in the 200 yard free (2:03.40). Gahagan followed that up with a win in the closely contested 50 yard free (26.12).
Freshman Kate Nally won the 200 yard fly (2:30.08). Russo and Gahagan placed first and second in the 100 yard free. Following that, freshman standouts Hilary Flint and Brie Hawkins took back to back races -- the 200 yard back and the 500 yard free. Kathleen Griffin added a victory with her strong diving off the one meter board.
The men's only meet of the weekend left them with a sour taste in their mouths as they came out flat and were trounced by a strong Niagara men's team. The tone was set early as the Niagara team of McCormack, Whipple, Rinkus and Latello upset the Loyola team of Gallagher, Kelly, Sposato and Massey in the 400 yard medley relay -- and event which Loyola captured at MAAC Championships last season.
Sophomore John Moore did his best to keep his team in the meet as he won the 1000 and 500 yard freestyle events with times of 10:11.32 and 4:50.44 respectively. He also finished a close second to Latello in the 200 yard free (1:48.70), missing the winning time by only one one-hundredth of a second.
Senior Captain Mark Gallagher won the 50 yard freestyle (22.31). Sophomores Ken Sposato and Vin Massey finished 2-3 in the 100 free and senior Jon Lang and sophomore Ryan Davis finished 2-3 in the 200 yard breastroke.
The team of Kelly, Sposato, David Raver and Ashley Loper finished second to a strong Niagara free relay to finish up a largely forgettable meet for the Loyola men.
Loyola held its annual Alumni Meet on Nov. 15. Meets coming up for the Greyhounds include a men's meet at Virginia Military Institute on Nov. 19. Both teams will be in Williamsburg, Virginia on Nov. 22 to take on a tough College of William and Mary team.
Click here for men's times and results versus Niagara.
Click here for women's times and results versus Niagara.
Click here for women's times and results versus Canisius.
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