BALTIMORE, Md. - The Lafayette swimming and diving team kicked off their season afternoon with a dual meet against Loyola Md. The women fell by a total score of 197-103, while the men also fell by a total score of 193-100.

On the women's side, the Leopards won four races on the day. The first win of the day came from senior Tara Leininger in the 200 yard freestyle, crossing the finish line in a time of 1:56.48 to score nine points in the event. Finishing second in less than two seconds behind Leininger in the race was Kaley Snarr in a time of 1:58.37 to score another four points in the event. Leininger came back later in the meet to also win the 200 yard breaststroke, finishing in a time of 2:29.65. Snarr also came back with another second place finish, this time in the 500 yard freestyle in a final time of 5:19.35 for another four points.

The next win came from first year Maggie Ivie in the 100 yard backstroke, winning the race in a time of 59.38 to score nine points in her collegiate debut. This performance entered Ivie in the Lafayette Top 10 all time list in the event. Ivie also came back later in the meet and won the 200 yard backstroke in a final time of 2:09.13 to add another nine points to her meet total. 

Junior Haleigh Marzano had a strong season opener for the Leopards as well, as she finished second overall in the 100 yard breaststroke (1:08.85) and the 200 yard breaststroke (2:31.12) to score eight total solo meet points on the day. Marzano was also a part of the 200 yard medley team, along with Danielle Carr, Sophia Toomey, and Samantha Talecki that finished second overall in a time of 1:50.43 to score another four points. Talecki also had a strong performance in the 50 yard freestyle as she finished second in a time of 25.07.

Another strong debut collegiate performance came from Paige Griggs, finishing second in the 1000 yard freestyle in a time of 10:55.24 to score another four points for the Leopards. Shaylee Daniels also had a strong collegiate debut, finished second overall in the three meter diving with a total score of 199.27. This mark enters Daniels in the Lafayette Top 10 all time in the event. Her mark of 187.43 in the one meter diving event also placed her in the Top 10 all time list for Lafayette.

Eden Ephraim also entered the Lafayette Top 100 all time list in both the one meter diving (191.85) and three meter diving (162.45). 

Finishing the meet for the women was the second place 200 yard freestyle relay team of Ivie, Maya Byrne, Emily Wilson, and Talecki in a final time of 1:41.21 to score the final four points on the day.

On the men's side, the Leopards won six races on the day. The first win of the day came from the foursome of James Lapsley, Michael Gorgan, Avery Letourneau, and Aaron Tupper in the 200 yard medley relay, winning the race in a time of 1:33.51 to score 11 points in the race.

Gorgan came back later in the meet to win two more races, both of them being solo races. The first win came in the 100 yard breaststroke, finishing first in a time of 57.73 to score nine points in the event. The next win from Gorgan came in the 200 yard breaststroke, crossing the finish line in a time of 2:07.86 to add another nine points to his meet total.

Letourneau came back later in the meet to win a solo race in his collegiate debut, crossing the finish line in first in the 200 yard butterfly in a time of 1:57.25 to score nine points in the event. His day still wasn't over, as he also won the 100 yard butterfly in a time of 50.71 to add another nine points to his meet total. This finish in the 100 meter butterfly enters him into the Lafayette Top 10 all time list as well.

The final win of the day came from another first year in Peter Kawash, crossing the finish line in a time of 1:56.76 in the 200 yard IM to score another nine points. 

The last entry in the Top 10 all time list for Lafayette was Naoki Nomura in the three meter diving event, finishing fifth overall with a total score of 139.35.

Lapsley had a strong season opener for Lafayette, as he came back later in the day and finished second in the 100 yard backstroke in a time of 51.96 to add another four points to his meet total. He then finished his day with another second place finish in the 200 yard backstroke in a time of 1:55.94 to score another four points on the day. Tupper also had a second place finish in the 100 yard freestyle in a time of 47.12 to add another four points to his meet total.

Closing out the meet scoring for the men was the foursome of Gorgan, Antonio Arena, Tupper, and Letourneau, finishing second in the 200 yard freestyle relay in a final time of 1:26.24 to score four points in the event. 

"It was a great first meet for us," said head coach, James Dailey. "It was our first away meet in two years. It was great to have everyone back and in the swing of things. Competing is a lot more fun than training all the time. We were able to have everyone compete and our student-athletes came with everything we had. The times and finishes were much better than we ever have been in the first meet of the season. It is a great place to build on for both our teams."

The Leopards return to action on Saturday, October 30th in a home dual meet against Colgate at 12PM.