The Canisius College men's swimming and diving team scored
its first win of the season, defeating Gannon 137.5-88.5 Saturday afternoon in
the Koessler Athletic Center pool. The Gannon women downed the Golden Griffins
151-91 in the women's event. It was the first home meet of the season for both
Canisius squads.
Canisius sophomore Steve Pochatko and freshman Matt Moessinger each won two events on the day as the
Golden Griffin men took the top spot in nine different events. Pochatko won the
men's 50-freestyle with a time of 22.17 and the 100-yard backstroke with a time
of 54.43. Moessinger took top honors in the 1,000-yard freestyle with a time of
10:18.35 and the 500-yard freestyle with his time of 5:03.78. Pochatko and
Moessinger joined with teammates Randall Snodgrass and Mike Disco to help
Canisius earn first place in the 400-yard freestyle relay with a time of
3:16.15.
Snodgrass won the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:49.94
while senior teammate Kevin Ernst won the 100-yard freestyle with his time of
55.59. The Griffs and the Golden Knights made for some early excitement in the
second event of the meet when the men's 200-yard medley relay ended in a dead
heat, with both Canisius and Gannon's teams touching the wall in 1:41.65.
In the women's event, sophomore Erica Vitale won the
1,000-yard freestyle, the 200-yard IM and the 100-yard backstroke. In the
1,000-yard freestyle, Vitale's time of 11:03.37 was 22 seconds better than the
next closest competitor, and she followed that effort with a time of 2:17.28 in
the 200-yard IM. Her time of 1:02.17 was tops in the 100-yard backstroke by
more than two seconds. Freshman diver Alexa Gigliotta took third-place in the
women's 1-meter diving event with her total of 191.32 while fellow freshman
diver Megan Braun took third place in the women's 3-meter event with 193.20
points.
In the men's diving competitions, freshman Alex Pason won
both the 1-meter and 3-meter events, with his scores of 227.62 and 203.62,
respectively.
Both the men and women's swimming and diving programs will
return to action Friday, Nov. 6, when the Griffs meet Youngstown State and
Cleveland State in a tri-meet in Youngstown, Ohio.
