In a see-saw battle that came down to the final event of the day, the Seattle University men’s swim team won the 200 freestyle relay to pull out a dual-meet victory over Simon Fraser University, 131-125, Saturday afternoon at the Connolly Center Pool.
On Senior Day, it was two seniors who brought home the victory, as Douglas Pizac (Salt Lake City, Utah) and Tomas Mendez-Beck (Hillsboro, Ore.) anchored the 200 freestyle relay, joining with Bart Wanot (Federal Way, Wash.) and Tanner Schelling (Boise, Idaho) to defeat the Clan by 21/100ths of a second with a time of 1:24.93.
The relay capped an extraordinary day for Pizac, who also won the 200 freestyle with a season-best mark of 1:44.06 and the 500 freestyle in 4:50.05. Schelling picked up a victory in the 50 freestyle with a time of 21.03 seconds, the best mark of the season by any Redhawk, while Wanot earned a two-second victory in the 200 backstroke with a time of 1:52.10, also a season-best performance.
“I am really proud of the way the team responded today after a slow start,” Seattle U head coach Craig Nisgor said. “After the first break, they came out on fire and did not let up. Doug went after it in all of his races today, Tanner had an extraordinary day, and several of the other guys came through despite coming off a tough week of practice and weight-training.”
Despite Simon Fraser winning eight of 14 events, the Redhawks were able to accumulate points with their depth. Wanot finished second in the 100 backstroke in a season-best time of 50.79 seconds, while Gabe Wheeler (Round Rock, Texas) touched the wall second in the 100 breaststroke in 59.98 seconds, followed by Connor Webb (Hood River, Ore.) in third place in 1:00.13.
Kyle Moline (Mercer Island, Wash.) led a 2-3-4 finish for Seattle U in the 200 butterfly with a time of 1:53.30, while Webb and Wheeler switched positions in the 200 breaststroke, with Webb finishing second in 2:09.00, followed by Wheeler in third place in 2:10.03. Schelling finished a half-second behind Simon Fraser’s Hans Heyer in the 100 freestyle with a mark of 46.93 seconds, and Mendez-Beck was out-touched by Ciaran McDonnell in the 100 butterfly by 8/100ths of a second, posting a time of 51.38 seconds.
The meet-opening 200 medley relay was also decided by a half-second margin, as Wanot, Wheeler, Mendez-Beck, and Schelling finished second with a season-best time of 1:33.94. Chris Weinert (Gresham, Ore.) finished first in the 1650 freestyle with a time of 16:51.45, followed by Mark Langston (Elk Grove, Calif.) in 17:14.65.
Before the meet, seniors Ali Abadi (Edmonds, Wash.), Mendez-Beck, Nicolas Morrell (Bend, Ore.), Pizac, and Kieran Schaefer (Sweet Home, Ore.) were recognized for their contributions to the Redhawk swim program over the past four years.
Seattle University (2-6) closes the dual meet season against BYU next Saturday, Feb. 1, starting at 12 noon at the Connolly Center Pool.