HTML ResultsROMEOVILLE, Ill. - Lewis men's swimming used a 1-3 finish in the final race of the day, the 200 freestyle relay to come from behind and tie Grand Valley State 131-131 on Saturday (Nov. 1) at the Lewis Pool.
The Flyers held a 115-111 lead with two events left. However Grand Valley State went 1-2-3 in the 200 IM to take the lead back heading into the 200 freestyle relay.
But in the final event, junior
Matt Bacinich (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North), sophomore
Aidan Brennan (Naples, Fla. /Barron Collier), sophomore
Victor Tarin (Godelleta, Valencia, Spain/IES Conselleria) and sophomore
Bryan Wiener (Mundelein, Ill./Mundelein) used a time of 1:24.76 to beat second place GVSU by more than two seconds. The win gave Lewis 11 points and second place GVSU four points. However it came down to the Lewis B relay team of junior
Tommy Cornes (Napa, Cali./Vintage), senior
Brett Busch (East Moline, Ill./United Township), junior
Caio Azevedo (Governador Valadares, Brazil/Sommerville) and sophomore
Bryant Jacobs (Pacifica, Calif./Terra Nova) taking third (1:28.58) to earn the two points Lewis needed to tie the Lakers.
Lewis' win in the 200 freestyle relay was the Flyers' eighth victory of the meet.
The meet also opened with a relay win for the Flyers. Wiener, junior
Zach Ballon (Englewood, Colo./Cherry Creek), junior
Alex Elston (Algonquin, Ill./Algonquin) and Bacinich pulled out a win of more than a second in the 200 medley relay thanks to a school record time of 1:34.30.
Brennan won two events on the day. He took home the 1000 freestyle title (9:46.11) and then won the 500 freestyle (4:45.97). Showing his versatility, he also took second in the 50 freestyle with his teammate, Bacinich, winning the 50 (21.54).
Tarin lived up to his first name by winning the 200 freestyle (1:43.95) by nearly three seconds.
In the 100 breaststroke, Ballon used a time of 58.91 to win the event. It was the first of two wins in the breaststroke for the Flyers. Freshman
Lance Fozo (South Bend, Ind./Riley) won the 200 in 2:08.64.
"I was incredibly proud of both teams," Lewis head coach
Roger Karns said. "They swam confidently and aggressively. The result from both meets show just how far this team has come in the last couple of years. We broke pool records, won great races and showed what we can do. Both GVSU teams were 10
th at nationals last year. This is a group that is beginning to understand just how good they can be."
Lewis and Grand Valley State used to be conference rivals in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference before the Great Lakes Valley Conference began sponsoring swimming last season. The tie for the Flyers is an impressive accomplishment for a Lewis squad that fell to the Lakers 189-100 last season.
Lewis has a busy weekend coming up as the Flyers host Valparaiso on Friday (Nov. 7) at 3 p.m. and then Truman State and Lake Forest at 11 a.m. on Saturday (Nov. 8).
