The stands were overflowing at the F.M. Kirby Pool as Drew’s swim and dive team honored 13 seniors for their tenure before they competed against the University of Scranton in their final career dual meet this past Saturday.
Each athlete was called forward and presented with a printed photo from the season, a gift bag and flowers as recognition for their commitment to the team.
“It was honestly very surreal,” Charlotte Wells (‘24) said. “I was definitely a little sad and excited about the whole meet and being a senior… being on the other side of it after all these years really hit me and I almost cried.”
The men’s swimming and diving team honored Finn Armitt (‘24), Jonathan Benowitz (‘24), Hayden Koh (‘24), Marco Niro (‘24), Luke Stevens (‘24) and CJ Talerico (‘24).
The women’s swimming and diving team honored Emma Boggs (‘24), Zoey Geoca (‘24), Amira Hadri (‘24), Maddie Kessel (‘24), Tori Newton (‘24), Megan Slater (‘24) and Wells.
The men’s team defeated the Royals 171.5-128.5, resulting in their first undefeated dual-meet season in program history.
Following an early lead, the men’s team dominated the meet, taking first place in 11 of 16 events. Despite the clear lead, a number of close races kept athletes and spectators alike on their toes as energy remained high throughout the meet.
Turning in an impressive showing for his final dual-meet, Koh contributed three individual victories for the Rangers in addition to being a part of the winning 200-medley relay. Nicolas Heinio-Widell (‘27) also contributed four victories for the team, leading a 1-2-3 sweep in the 100-freestyle where he was followed by Brendan Burkett (‘26) and Stevens.
On the women’s side, Drew was edged out at the very end for a close loss of 156-143.
The women’s team maintained a lead until the 13th event when Scranton eclipsed Drew, but the teams remained neck and neck in points until the final event when the Royals took first place in the 200-freestyle relay, solidifying their victory over the Rangers.
Despite the narrow loss, several athletes threw down tremendous showings in the pool to close out their dual-meet season in style, with captains Hadri and Sam Trodick (‘25) taking first place in all four of their events. Trodick’s performance earned her the Landmark Conference Athlete of the Week honor, while Hadri was named Ranger of the Week for her victories in the pool.
Drew’s swimming and diving teams will compete next at the Landmark Conference Championships beginning Feb. 15 at Loyola University in Baltimore, Md.
With the championship just ahead, Wells outlined her perspective going into the final meet of her swimming career: “I’ll hopefully end on a high note at conference, but I also want to focus on having fun with the team and not stressing too much since it’s almost over.”
Brandon Dennis is a senior major in English with a concentration in creative writing.
