COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – Jacob Menzer and Michael Prior each took down a pool record and the Ursinus College men's swimming team shook off jet lag to post a 144-118 non-conference victory over Susquehanna in its first dual meet of 2019.
Having returned home from their annual winter trip to Florida the day before, the Bears (4-2) got right back in the pool with an impressive effort highlighted by the historic performances of two of their stars.
Menzer marked a time of 1:43.96 in the 200 free, besting by nearly a second the previous Elliott Pool standard, which had been held by Gettysburg's Matt Libby since 2011. Only the 1650 free, which had stood since 2007, has had a longer run on the men's side of the pool record book.
Prior eclipsed his own Elliott Pool record with a clocking of 1:54.80 in the 200 back, a full three-quarters of a second ahead of the time he achieved last season.
Menzer was also victorious in the 100 free, checking in at 47.99.
Prior joined senior Maxwell Coulter, freshman Daniel Mueser, and freshman Ryan Carkhuff to capture first place in the 200 medley relay, opening the meet with a time of 1:37.40.
The River Hawks claimed the next four events, but senior James Callaghan notched a win in the 200 fly (2:01.04), where senior Johnathan Myers was second (2:02.76).
Junior Jared Krawetz led a 1-2 finish in the 500 free with a time of 4:56.39, with freshman William Clift taking runner-up status.
Mueser came up with a victory in the 100 fly (52.56), and sophomore Matthew Buccella was second in that race.
Prior placed second in both the 100 back (53.72) and 200 IM (2:01.66), while Coulter was runner-up in the 100 breast (1:01.88) and 200 breast (2:20.08).
Carkhuff (22.05) and Mueser (22.25) placed second and third, respectively, in the 50 free. Krawetz (1:47.53) and junior Casey Lear (1:48.11) did the same in the 200 free, as did senior Kevin Gill (10:31.43) and freshman Matthew Seeburger (10:35.59) in the 1000 free.
The meet ended on a scintillating note as Menzer, Lear, Mueser, and Carkhuff went stroke for stroke with Susquehanna in the 200 free relay, ultimately coming up short by one hundredth of a second with a time of 1:27.79.
The Bears were scheduled to travel to NYU on Saturday, but that trip has been cancelled due to the impending storm and the state of emergency issued in Pennsylvania. The team's next meet is at home against Franklin & Marshall on January 26.