UB Men Beat Miami on Senior Day

On a day when the 6 seniors on the UB Men's team were recognized for their commitment and success, the entire team pulled together to beat MAC rival Miami in convincing fashion. Prior to the meet, seniors Jordan Matthews, Kevin Song, Connor Vander Zalm, Zach Ruske, Andrew Tamchyna, and Mike McDowell (pictured above from left to right) were introduced by members of the team and honored by all who attended Saturday's meet.

The meet began with a win in the 200 medley relay. Matt Schwippert, Josh Meints, Cory Zorsch, and Jared Heine finished with a season best time of 1:33.71. Senior Connor Vander Zalm won the first individual event, the 1650 free, in a season best 16:18.86, and followed with a win in the 500 free. Freshman Josh Meints was the only 3-event winner. Besides swimming the breaststroke leg of the medley relay, Josh won the 100 breast, 200 breast, and 200 IM. Other individual event winners were senior Zach Ruske in the 200 back, freshman Matt Hogan in the 100 free, sophomore Simon Proudfoot in the 50 free, freshman Cory Zorsch in the 100 fly, and sophomore Colin Patrican on 1-meter.

Saturday's win over Miami gives the Men's team a winning record in the MAC for the first time since the 1999-2000 season. Congratulations!

UB Women Make Statement Against Akron

The UB Women's team returned to competition last Friday when they traveled to the University of Akron. It was the first MAC meet for the team since early November and the women were looking forward to seeing how they stacked up against a much improved Akron team. The meet turned out to be one of the most exciting of the season, with the Bulls coming out on top by a score of 158-140.

The meet began with the Bulls winning the 400 medley relay in a season best time of 3:51.10. Jordan Deren followed with a win in the 1000 free. The score of the meet continued to go back and forth after key performances by members of both teams. Here are some of the highlights: Brynn Marecki and Alie Schirmers combined for a 1-2 finish in the 100 breast and 200 breast. Freshman Dani Adank placed 2nd in the 200 fly with a lifetime best of 2:07.4. Caroline Simmons and Jessie Koltz finished 1-2 in the 100 free, while senior Meili Carpenter continued to dominate on the boards. She won 1-meter and 3-meter, and reset her own pool record on 3-meter.

With only two events to go, the meet was tied at 131. Senior Jessica Ballard lead the way in the 200 IM, winning in a season best time of 2:07.42. Alie Schirmers finished 2nd in the event, and Brynn Marecki was 4th. The 200 free relay did not disappoint as the team of Jessie Koltz, Sam Palma, Karly Moore, and Caroline Simmons out touched Akron to win the event and the meet.

Team Begins Semester with 2 Wins on the Road

The first weekend of competition this semester for the UB Swimming & Diving team ended with victories against Niagara University and Binghamton University.

Saturday's meet at Niagara was highlighted by several performances including wins by senior Emily Day in the 100 fly, junior Alisa Koopman in the 200 IM, freshman Logan Mason in the 500 free, and senior Sam Eckert in the 50 free. These were their first individual wins of the season....Congratulations! The men won 11 of the 13 events including both relays. Notable performances include wins by freshmen Zach Rice in the 1000 free, Josh Meints in the 50 free, Matt Schwippert in the 500 free, Cory Zorsch in the 100 back, and Matt Hogan in the 100 breast. The meet provided the freshmen class with several great opportunities to step up and lead the team.

On Monday, the team traveled to Binghamton for a much anticipated competition, especially for the men's team who has had several close meets against the Bearcats in recent years. Both the men and the women showed up ready to swim and made a statement early in the meet. The Bulls swept the relays for the second consecutive meet. Outstanding individual performances include Meili Carpenter on 1-meter and 3-meter, Alisa Koopman in the 1000 free, Jordan Deren in the 200 free and 500 free, Dani Adank in the 200 fly, and a tie in the women's 50 free between Caroline Simmons and Jessie Koltz. The men were lead by Connor Vander Zalm in the 500 free and 1000 free, Josh Meints in the 200 IM and 200 breast, Chris Berloth in the 200 fly, and Matt Schwippert in the 200 back.

You can check out the full results on our website: www.buffalobulls.com

More from Florida...

Practice is over...time to go back to the hotel! Another great workout!


Seniors Jessica Ballard and Connor Vander Zalm hanging out on the wall after warm-up.

Head Coach Andy Bashor working with the sprint group during one of our afternoon, short course practices.

Hitting the Beach - Dryland in Florida

During our time in Florida, we took advantage of the beach as we changed up dryland. Our dryland workouts consisted of a circuit of 5-6 exercises followed by some running relays in the sand. Check out the first exercise from Friday's dryland session....

Training Trip....Bulls travel to Ft. Lauderdale

After a week away in Ft. Lauderdale, the team is back in Buffalo and preparing for the start of the Spring semester. It was a cold week in Florida, but one that included a lot of great training and time together as a team. We will be adding more pictures and videos as the week continues, but here are a few to get you started. We hope you enjoy!


The team getting ready for practice on Friday afternoon....by far the warmest day we had during our time in Florida.

Andy and James discussing the details of practice.

Sunrise at the pool...seeing the sun was a sign of warmer things to come each day!
One of our last mornings at Pine Crest. We trained long course in the mornings and short course in the afternoons. It was nice to mix things up!

Coach Bashor Talks About The Season

Head Coach Andy Bashor talks about the first half of the 2009-10 season, including how the team has been training up to this point and how the men's and women's teams have grown together over the past 3 seasons.