Burke Poeting

Jillian Saccogna

The College of Wooster swimming and diving teams returned from their annual winter break training trip to Florida in fine form, as the Fighting Scots swept past the University of Mount Union in decisive fashion Friday evening with the men prevailing 130-107 and the women 163-76 in a dual meet held inside Timken Natatorium at Wooster, Ohio.

Wooster lost to Mount Union by 23 points in the men's competition last year, but turned the tables this time around, behind a number of exciting performances.

Early on, the Scots got a boost as the lengthy 1000 freestyle came down to just a difference of 0.14 seconds, with Cameron Gelwicks edging a swimmer from Mount Union at the wall, 10:15.59 to 10:15.73.

Another key event was the 50 free, in which Wooster's Aaron Brown, Burke Poeting, and Griffin Campbell finished 1-2-3, respectively. Brown and Poeting actually tied for first with matching 22.42 times, and Campbell was just six-hundredths of a second behind.

Conner Gelwicks, the older brother of Cameron, provided significant scoring as usual. He swept the 200 free (1:46.60) and 100 backstroke (52.73), while another double winner was diver Aaron Salzman, who took top honors on both the one-meter (259.15) and three-meter (256.40).

In the women's meet, the Scots showcased their depth with seven different individual winners, plus taking first-place in the two relays.

There were two events in which Wooster swimmers paced the field, then touched the wall within a half second of each other, as Jamie Hibbs edged teammate Alexandra Desotelle 56.42 to 56.90 in the 100 free and Maggie Layde outreached Kalla Sturonas 1:02.19 to 1:02.52 in the 100 butterfly. Desotelle later emerged victorious in the 100 breaststroke (1:09.78), backed up by Erin Drake (1:10.47).

The Scots also had the top-two finishers in the 200 free and 400 IM, with Emma Fikse winning the former in 2:00.68, followed by Layde (2:02.93), and Sarah Litt the latter in 4:51.20, followed by Lena Smith (4:56.53).

More good news for Wooster came with the return of Jillian Saccogna. Competing for the first time in nearly a year, the talented sophomore led the way in the 50 free (26.32), and also notable, Theresa Spadola swept the diving events, scoring 243.55 on the one-meter and 223.05 on the three-meter.

The Scots continue their weekend homestand, welcoming Ohio Wesleyan University on Saturday afternoon.