The Seton Hall swimming and diving teams swept Rider University in their season opener Friday afternoon in Lawrenceville, N.J.
The men's team won by a score of 171-125 and the women were victorious by a score of 168-130 led by several freshmen.
"The freshmen have definitely made their presence felt in the pool on both the men and women's side," head coach Ron Farina said. "It gives the team a lot of confidence moving forward."
For the men's team, freshman Spencer Murakami and Joey Lacus each finished their collegiate debut with a first place victory in the 200-yard butterfly and 50-yard freestyle, respectively. Murakami also had a second place finish in the 100-yard butterfly and Lacus also finished fourth in the 100-yard freestyle.
In addition to the freshmen, the men were led by senior Kevin Webster, and sophomore Austin Acheson, who together had five first place finishes against the Broncs.
Webster, Seton Hall's current Male Athlete of the Year, finished first in the 100 and 200-yard backstroke and the 400-yard individual medley.
Acheson helped the Pirates with first place victories in the 500 and 1,000-yard freestyle.
For the women's team, freshmen Kerrie Kolackovsky and Jane Ehret each had three first place victories. Kolackovsky finished first in the 100 and 200-yard breaststroke and in the 500-yard freestyle. Ehret finished with the best time in the 100 and 200-yard butterfly and the 400-yard individual medley.
The remainder of the women's eight victories of the day came on the diving boards, when junior Brittany Hervey got first place in the 1 and 3 meter events.
The teams also had victories in the women 200-yard medley relay with the team of Kolackovsky, Ehret, Andrea Shuba, and Rose Virgilio.
The men won the 200-yard medley relay with the team of Webster, Kurakami, Kenny Pritchard, and Matt Holland.
"It sets the tone for the rest of the season," Farina said about his team's performance. "It is nice to start off with a win, especially over a team that last year swept us."
Throughout the day in Lawrenceville, the Pirates were able to punch 22 tickets in total into the BIG EAST Championships, 11 swimmers for each side.
For the men, Acheson, Webster, Murakami, and Lacus led the group into the Championships with qualifying times. The women were led by Kolackovsky, Ehret, and Hervey.
The Swimming and Diving teams travel to Baltimore, Md. on Oct. 30 for a Quad Meet against Drexel, Loyola and Lafayette.
"If we swim the way we swam on Friday, both teams can come out with three victories," Farina said.
Joe Sorensen can be reached at sorensjo@student.shu.edu.
