STANDISH, Maine – The Saint Joseph's College men's swim team defeated Elms College, 116-102, in what was the Monks' 2014-15 home-opener at the Harold Alfond Center Pool on Saturday afternoon.
The men's competition was one of the most tightly contested events in recent memory. With the result on the line going into the last race – the 200-Free relay – the Monks pushed past the Blazers in the final two legs, swam by junior Andrew Merlino (Natick, Mass.) and senior Preston Bowden (Biddeford, Maine), to clinch the victory with a 1:37.40 effort, barely two seconds ahead of the Elms quartet.
The women's team also won, 141-111, to provide Saint Joseph's with the sweep – wins for both teams on the same date - for the second time in as many events this season, as the Royal Blue toppled Husson University in Bangor last Saturday. The SJC swim program has now recorded a pair of sweeps in the same season for the first time in the team's eight-year history. Also, St. Joe's has never before had both sides open with 2-0 starts to a season.
Junior Alex Gilvey (Windham, Maine) helped lead the Monks to the triumph with wins in the 50-Back (27.25) and 200-IM (2:13.67) events and also placed second in the 500-Free (5:23.45) while senior Adam Gaulin (Belfast, Maine) posted victories in the 50-Breast (30.49) and 100-Breast (1:07.71) races and finished as the runner-up in the 200-IM (2:16.93).
Sophomore Ben Johnson (Belmont, Mass.) won the 100-Fly by a sizeable margin with a 56.48 effort and also placed first in the 50-Fly (25.59) while Bowden registered a top finish in the 100-Back (1:02.53) and finished second in the 200-Free (2:05.25).
Sophomore Dakota Dupuis placed second in the 100-Free (59.71) with fourth-place finishes in the 50-Free (26.88) and 50-Fly (31.55) events and also swam a leg in the event-clinching 200-Free Relay race.
Saint Joseph's returns to the pool next Saturday with a home event versus Regis College starting at 1:00 PM.
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Saint Joseph's College is Maine's only Catholic liberal arts college, providing a supportive, personalized and career-focused education for more than 100 years. From its 430-acre campus on the shores of Sebago Lake, the College offers more than 40 undergraduate programs to a population of approximately 1,000 students. Saint Joseph's College Online provides certificates, undergraduate and advanced degrees for working adults through an online learning program. For more, visit www.sjcme.edu.
