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Seton Hall Athletics[/caption]
The Seton Hall men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams took first place in their first meet of the 2015-16 season over Saint Peter’s and Montclair State on Friday.
The men’s team used its 10 first-place finishes to propel the Pirates to the top while the women used their 14 first-place finishes in front of the home crowd at Arthur E. Imperatore Natatorium.
“I was very pleased with their performances,” head coach Ron Farina said about his teams following the meet. “We have trained really hard and I think we had some good swims, we had some tired swims, but all in all I think for the first meet of the year, I am pleased.”
Freestyle swimmer Dakota Williams impressed Farina in his first meet as a Pirate.
“I think Dakota Williams, freshman, had a great meet for us,” he said.
Williams won his first career victory with a 21.40 in the 50-freestyle. He grabbed the victory by passing returning Big East champion and teammate Noah Yanchulis.
Williams also finished just .02 seconds behind teammate and classmate Lior Grubert, in the 100-freestyle to finish in second place in the event.
On the women’s side, freshman Courtney McCardle of Hurley, N.Y., also made an immediate impact. McCardle won the 100-breast and the 200-breast in her first collegiate meet.
After the meet, Farina spoke about the crowd and the impact it had on his team.
“The crowd was awesome,” he said. “Not only was it our first meet of the season, but it was our first home meet of the season. So I think that everyone was excited.”
Farina added after the meet that he hopes the team keeps its early momentum and carries that into next weekend’s meet.
“I want to make sure that we are nice and sharp,” Farina said. “We will be going up against some pretty stiff competition against a Big 12 team and the defending Big East champions.”
The swim teams will be back in action next weekend when they travel to West Virginia to participate in the West Virginia Quad Meet against Butler, West Virginia and Xavier.
Matthew Rachek can be reached at matthew.rachek@student.shu.edu or on twitter @MatthewRachek
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