POUGHKEEPSIE, NY - It was an outstanding start for the Vassar College men's and women's swimming & diving teams as they opened the 2021-22 season on Wednesday with victories over Bard College. The Brewers men posted a win with a score of 96-46, while the women captured their win over the Raptors by a 104-48 margin.

Action opened with the Brewers women earning the win in the 200-yard medley relay as the foursome of seniors Jesse Ecklund and Abby Jenkins, along with sophomore Alejandra Robins and junior Abby Whittington combined for a time of 1:55.20. The men's side saw sophomore Han Ryu and seniors Nikolas Pham, Max White and Brandon Li post a winning time of 1:40.05.

Next up was a combined 1,000-yard freestyle, which saw sophomore Karlie Porter post a time of 12:56.92, while the Vassar men were represented by rookie Tyler Tsukuda, who finished first with a time of 11:12.59. The 200-yard freestyle was a 1-2-3 finish for the women as junior Grace Myers won with a time of 2:02.49, followed by sophomore Alanna Muello with a mark of 2:06.19 and junior Lillian Lowenthal in third with a time of 2:06.77. The men's side was won by junior Robbie Perot as he touched the wall in a time of 1:47.03, outpacing second-place by a near nine-second difference.

The 50-yard freestyle saw the Brewers once again go in order, paced by Whittington in victory with a time of 25.92. Rookie Jordan Marlow was second (26.03), followed by sophomore Abby Wang (27.23). Ryu was the men's winner, blazing to victory in a time of 22.36. Sophomore Rory Stumpf took third overall (23.51), while sophomore Hanlin Wang was fourth (23.53).

In the 200-yard individual medley, Ecklund was the winner, touching the wall with a mark of 2:15.98, while the men's event was won by White, who posted a mark of 2:05.09 for the victory. Robins went on to win the 100-yard butterfly, recording a time of 1:01.41, leading the first of three straight finishers as Vassar saw Wang take second (1:05.88) and Porter earn third (1:06.78). The men's side saw Tsukuda earn runner-up with a time of 58.28. Whittington was then the victor in the 100-yard freestyle, posting a mark of 56.25 for the win, while Perot was the victor on the men's side, going 49.62.

The 100-yard backstroke saw Lowenthal record the top time for the women with 1:04.16, while the men's side saw Ryu with the top time of 1:00.44. In a combined 500-yard freestyle, rookie Ben Glazebnik had the top mark of 5:12.38, followed by the women's top of 5:39.34 from Myers. Jenkins went on to take the top time in the 100-yard breaststroke with a mark of 1:33.89, while Perot had the top time for the men with a 1:02.90. In the final event, the 200-yard freestyle relay, Vassar's foursome on the women's side of Lowenthal, Myers, Wang and Muello combined for a time of 1:44.22, while the men's group of Li, Pham, Tsukuda and Glazebnik had a time of 1:30.89.

Both squads return to action on October 23 when they travel to Waltham, Mass., for a 1pm meet at Brandeis University.