SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – The College of Wooster women's swimming and diving team's winning streak reached 31 on Friday evening, as the Fighting Scots were no match for NCAA Div. II Notre Dame College and Bluffton University, winning 166-33 and 169-13, respectively. Wooster's men's team turned in just as dominant of a performance, dispatching Notre Dame 163.5-27.5 and Bluffton 171-5.
Wooster won every single event, and senior Josh Pearson had to give it everything he had in the 100 freestyle to keep the run of first-place finishes intact just past the meet's midpoint. Notre Dame's Luis Miguel Aguilar Delgado put up a strong fight in the 100 freestyle, and the two touched at the same time, stopping the clock at 49.65.
Elsewhere, sizable winning margins, almost always backed up by a fellow Fighting Scot, were the norm, starting with sophomore Will Laymon, sophomore Boston Sullivan, Pearson, and sophomore Will Laubacher in the 200 medley relay (1:40.13). Pearson was a triple-winner on the night, taking first in the 100 breaststroke at 1:02.10, while both Laubacher and Sullivan were two-time meet champions. Laubacher's second blue-ribbon effort came in the 200 freestyle (1:50.78), while Sullivan joined sophomore Callum Glover, sophomore Flynn Cowie, and junior Ryan Gross in the meet-capping 200 freestyle relay (1:28.45).
Glover matched Pearson for the team-high with three victories. The sophomore was the fastest in the pool with the winning time of 21.82 and cruised to the 100 butterfly finish line at 53.53. Ten different Wooster men scored first-place finishes on the night. Junior Tucker Andrewjeski led the distance crew, turning in a 10:37.05 in the 1,000 freestyle, Gross scored the first of two top finishes in the 500 freestyle (5:03.57), junior Isaac Shaker earning top billing in the 200 individual medley (2:00.55), and junior Max Likins captured the 100 backstroke title (56.93).
Junior Hallie Findlan, senior Maddie Becker, junior Ollie Bream, and senior Emma Connors raced to a first-place time of 1:54.21 in the meet-opening 200 medley relay. Individually, Bream was first in the 200 freestyle (1:59.29) and 100 butterfly (1:02.20), while Becker and Findlan scored individual first-place finishes in the 50 freestyle (25.29) and 100 freestyle (54.28), respectively.
In all, 11 Wooster women were part of first-place finishes on the night. First-year Tara McGovern and junior JP Timken were part of two each. McGovern's 1:03.82 won the 100 backstroke and Timken swam to the winning time of 5:24.68 in the 500 freestyle. They were joined by first-year Rachel Frank and first-year Charlotte Helm on the winning 200 freestyle relay (1:47.44).
Elsewhere, sophomore Bailey Nickols scored an early win in the 1,000 freestyle (11:36.00), junior Mariam Zayour earned top honors in the 200 individual medley (2:23.26), and junior Izzy Bellefleur rounded out the victories with a 1:11.75 in the 100 breaststroke.
Wooster's divers competed at John Carroll University as exhibition entries on Friday due to Notre Dame not having diving boards.
Next, Wooster caps the dual meet season against Hiram College and Oberlin College at Timken Natatorium at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 3. Wooster's women's seniors are looking to cap their careers with an undefeated dual meet record, while the men's seniors have an opportunity to finish undefeated in dual meets against North Coast Athletic Conference competition.