POUGHKEEPSIE, NY - It was a clean sweep for the Vassar College men's and women's swimming & diving teams as they defeated Pace University in action at Kresge Pool on Friday evening. The Vassar men powered their way to a 183-112 win over the Setters from Division II, while the Brewers women were victorious by a 169-115 margin. VC's men and women improve to 5-3 and 8-1, respectively, in dual meet action.

Action opened with the 200-yard medley relay as the women saw juniors Rhea Randhawa (Dix Hills, NY) and Stephanie Kaplan (Bellmore, NY), along with rookie Lillian Lowenthal (Baltimore, MD) and junior Brynn Lautenbacher (Dunwoody, GA) combined for a winning time of 1:52.34. On the men's side, rookies Nick D'Arrigo (Williamsville, NY) and Anthony Cheng (Cherry Hill, NJ), senior Harrison Taylor (Wyandanch, NY) and junior Max White (Green Bay, WI) earned the victory with a time of 1:41.42.

Next up was the 1000-yard freestyle as junior Angharad Healey (Summit, NJ) grabbed the win with a time of 11:10.85 - nearly 16 seconds faster than the second-place finisher. Leading the men's event was sophomore Ethan Skuches (Milford, CT) as he touched the wall in a winning time of 10:28.19 - his time was nearly 30 seconds faster than second-place. White returned in the men's 200-yard freestyle, touching the wall first in a time of 1:48.04, while in the 100-yard backstroke, sophomore Jesse Ecklund (Missoula, MT) was victorious in a time of 59.97. She and Randhawa both had outstanding swims, earning the Brewers solid points as Randhawa took second with a mark of 1:01.44.

In the 100-yard breaststroke, Kaplan earned the win as she powered her way to a time of 1:11.02, while in the men's event, Cheng blazed his way to victory with a mark of 1:01.39 - nearly three seconds faster than second-place. Lowenthal picked up her first individual win in the 200-yard butterfly, recording a time of 2:10.79, while the men's event saw sophomore Jake Mier (Ponte Vedra Beach, FL) victorious in a time of 2:00.42. The 50-yard freestyle proved to be a nail-bitter on the women's side as Lautenbacher out-touched Pace's Jana Ciric by the slimmest of margins. She notched a time of 25.73, while second place was 25.77. Additionally, sophomore Violet Witchel (Durango, CO) was close behind, taking third with a time of 25.82, which just outpaced teammate Sophie Forbes (San Angelo, TX) as she had a time of 25.85.

Action switched gears to diving as the women took to action on the 1-meter board with rookei Evelyn Boyle (Baton Rouge, LA) winning with a score of 179.85 points. Junior Emily Chong (Dix Hills, NY) took third overall with 117.83 points. On the men's side in 3-meter action, sophomore Sam Murphy (Los Angeles, CA) was third with a score of 156.45 points, while classmate Laurence Barr-Forget (Westhampton Beach, NY) was fourth (128.78) and freshman Ben Bragin (Santa Monica, CA) was fifth (128.63).

Back in the pool, freshman Grace Myers (Havertown, PA) claimed victory in the 100-yard freestyle in a time of 55.74, out-touching Pace's Leigha Kosakowski, who had a time of 55.84. The men's side saw sophomore Nikolas Pham (Lancaster, PA) earn second overall with a time of 50.99, while classmate Brandon Li (Whippany, NJ) was third with a 51.13.

Ecklund was the winner once again in the backstroke, this time in the 200-yard event, as she won with a time of 2:09.74. For the men, White was victorious with a mark of 1:58.00. Kaplan earned her second win of the evening in the 200-yard breast as she powered her way to a time of 2:31.75, while on the men's side, Cheng picked up another win with a time of 2:14.08. Healey turned in another first-place performance, this time in the 500-free as she notched a time of 5:29.03, while the men's side saw Mier take the win with a time of 5:03.36.

Lowenthal went on to post a mark of 59.03 to win the 100-butterfly, followed closely in second by Lautenbacher, who had a timeof 1:02.27. The men's event saw Taylor take second overall with a mark of 54.94. In the men's 1-meter diving, Murphy once again took third with a score of 154.35 points, while Barr-Forget was fourth (142.80) and Bragin finished fifth (113.00).

In the 200-IM, Randhawa earned second in the women's event with a time of 2:17.28, while the men's race saw D'Arrigo capture victory as he edged out teammate Cheng (2:05.50) with a time of 2:05.28. The final event of the evening, the 400-yard freestyle relay, saw the foursome of Lowenthal, rookie Abby Whittington (Sandy, UT), Lautenbacher and Ecklund post the top time of 3:46.07. In the men's event, Taylor, Mier, senior Matthew Imiolek (St. Louis, MO) and White combined for a time of 3:22.43 for the victory.

Vassar is right back in the pool on Saturday as it travels to Schenectady for a 1pm dual meet at Union College.