Army Splits Action at Bucknell in Patriot League Debut

Saturday, January 15

Lewisburg, PA

1 PM

Army West Point

117

183

Bucknell

Army Splits Action at Bucknell in Patriot League Debut

January 15, 2022 | Men's Swimming and Diving, Women's Swimming and Diving

Results (PDF)

MEET
MEN'S SCORES	Army 206, Bucknell 92
MEN'S RECORDS	Army (4-3, 1-1 PL) Bucknell (6-3, 5-2 PL)
WOMEN'S SCORES	Bucknell 183, Army 117
WOMEN'S RECORDS	Army (3-6, 0-2 PL) Bucknell (8-1, 6-1 PL)

LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Army West Point swimming & diving team split its meet hosted by Patriot League opponent Bucknell on Saturday afternoon, with the men earning a dominant 206-92 victory and the women dropping a 183-117 result.

The men's win, which marked their 10th-straight over the Bison, saw the team surpass 200 dual points for the first time this season. Army secured the top finish in 15 out of 16 events while sweeping both the 1000 Free and the 1-meter dive. In the women's action, the Black Knights were led by Meghan Cole and Minh Donnell, who both collected a pair of first-place finishes in individual events.

The Men's Meet
Army built its lead early in the action against Bucknell, collecting 64 of the 92 points available in the first five races. Both Jacob Powell and Evan Zhang, who helped the Black Knights win the opening 200 Medley Relay, added individual triumphs in the 100 Back and 100 Breast to push the Cadets out front.

The team also got an early boost in the scoring thanks to the trio of Ian Tansill, Evan Yoo and Wes Tate, as they swept the 1000-yard freestyle.

While continuing to take home events, Army's team points got another bump when Daniel Alaimo, David Manelis and Isaac Newman grabbed the top three spots in the 1-meter dive.
Both Alaimo (322.05) and Manelis (307.88) surpassed scores of 300, while Newman finished with a mark of 279.00.

The team continued to dominate as the competition went on, securing four-straight races before Bucknell answered with its first victory of the day. A Bison duo finished first and second in the 100-yard butterfly to stop the Cadets from earning their 13th-straight event win.

Army responded by grabbing victories in the final two individual events of the day, as Alaimo won the 3M dive and Yoo touched the wall first in the 400 IM. The Cadets then closed things out with a decisive result in the 200 Free Relay, as the quartet of Owen Harlow, Tanner Falls, Powell and Nick Isenhower out-touched the second-place Bison entry by over 2.5 seconds.

The Women's Meet
Bucknell controlled the action out of the gate, winning each of the first five events. Tania Rodriguez, Lauren Carag and Aurelie Migault each helped to keep the Black Knights in it early, as Rodriguez (1000 Free) and Carag (100 Back) picked up third-place finishes and Migault touched second in the 100 Breast.

Eventually, Melinda Zhang posted the Cadets' first victory of the meet, as she grabbed nine points with her top performance in the 200 Fly. Zhang led the field by almost three full seconds and was joined in the scoring by Jasmine Coe, who placed fourth.

Army gained some momentum following Zhang's effort, as Meghan Cole took home the following event with a 23.80-second swim in the 50 Free. Cole was one of three Cadets to score in the event, as Sammie Edwards finished third and Angela Huang placed fifth. Minh Donnell then made it three-straight victories for the team, as she took home the 1-meter dive with a score of 265.65.

In response to the Black Knights' scoring spree, Bucknell got back on top with a victory in the 100 Free. The Bison led in four-straight events before Cole added her second individual triumph of the day in the 100 Fly. Both Coe (fourth) and Clara Williams (fifth) also scored to help the Cadets pick up 12 total points before Donnell added an additional victory in the 3-meter dive.

Though the home team swept the final individual race of the afternoon, the 400 IM, Army finished the meet on a high note by winning the tightly-contested 200 Free Relay. The quartet of Edwards, Rea Smith, Cole and Huang touched the wall less than a second ahead of the second-place Bison to grab the team's final points of the day.

Men's Event Winners
200 Medley Relay – Jacob Powell, Evan Zhang, Ian Shahn, Owen Harlow – 1:30.59
1000 Free – Ian Tansill – 9:23.29
200 Free – Tanner Falls – 1:39.86
100 Back – Jacob Powell – 50.79
100 Breast – Evan Zhang – 55.05
50 Free – Owen Harlow – 20.54
1M Dive – Daniel Alaimo – 322.05
100 Free – Owen Harlow – 45.87
200 Back – Sam Wesley – 1:50.84
200 Breast – Evan Yoo – 1:59.36
500 Free – Ian Tansill – 4:35.13
3M Dive – Daniel Alaimo (326.25)
400 IM – Evan Yoo – 3:57.53
200 Free Relay – Owen Harlow, Tanner Falls, Jacob Powell, Nick Isenhower – 1:22.53

Women's Event Winners
200 Fly – Melinda Zhang – 2:02.95
50 Free – Meghan Cole – 23.80
1M Dive – Minh Donnell – 265.65
100 Fly – Meghan Cole – 56.95
3M Dive – Minh Donnell – 267.90
200 Free Relay – Sammie Edwards, Rea Smith, Meghan Cole, Angela Huang – 1:36.07

Coach's Corner
"It was our first meet in over a month and I was impressed with the team and how they performed in the pool and on the boards. For both men and women, we had numerous in-season best times led by first years, Meghan Cole and Evan Yoo. However, it is clear that we need to rehearse race details and execution of our races as we head into our championship season. We have two more home meets to get these details down so we look forward to the team stepping up in those moments." - Head Coach Brandt Nigro

Cadets' Corner
"I'm proud of the energy the women's team brought today. We've put a lot of work in especially over these past two weeks, and it shows through all of the in-season bests we had, both individually and for relays. While the score is not what we were hoping for, this meet gave us a good understanding of our foundation leading into the latter portion of the season. I'm excited to see what this team can do at the conference championship." - Sammie Edwards

"No better way to kick off the New Year than with a big win over a conference team. Bucknell is a great team with a lot of great swimmers and divers. We had some big swims across the board from our freshmen all the way through our seniors. Big races from Owen Harlow and Evan Yoo. A great performance on the boards from Isaac Newman. Ian Tansil and Tanner Falls with huge races and setting the example was Kevin Lin with a huge victory in the 200 Fly. This is just another step in completing our goals. We aren't quite where we want to be at this point of the year and we got some big meets coming up against some tough opponents. It'll be good to compete on home turf and get the support from our fans so we are excited for that." - Daniel Alaimo

What's Next
The men will be the next team in action for Army, as they are set to play host to Columbia on Friday, Jan. 21. The meet against the Lions is scheduled for a 5 p.m. start at Crandall Pool. Following that clash, both teams will prepare to take on Lehigh in their final regular-season duel on Friday, Jan. 28 at 5 p.m. The action opposite the Mountain Hawks will serve as the team's Firstie Night, where the program will honor its 11-member senior class.

Follow Along
For complete coverage of Army West Point Swimming & Diving, follow the Black Knights on Twitter and Instagram at @ArmyWP_SwimDive and online at www.goarmywestpoint.com.