MIDDLETOWN, Conn. — The Wheaton College (Mass.) men's swimming & diving team earned a split in a double-dual meet this afternoon with a 136-76 victory over host Wesleyan University and a 151-67 defeat to University of Bridgeport at Webster Family Natatorium in Middletown, Conn.
The Lyons are now 4-4 on the season, while Wesleyan is 0-8 and Bridgeport improves to a perfect 9-0.
Both of Wheaton's relays scored victories over Wesleyan. First year Marcus Tran (Milton, Mass.) led off the 400-medley relay in the backstroke, before yielding to older brother Andrew Tran (Milton, Mass.) in the breaststroke. Senior Gavin Cullinan (Cumming, Ga.) followed in the butterfly, before classmate Brian Hixson (Scituate, Mass.) swam the anchor freestyle to combine on a time of 3:31.22. The Lyons closed the meet in the 400-yard freestyle relay with a time of 3:09.36 behind Marcus Tran, Hixson, Cullinan and senior Will Larson (Iowa City, Iowa).
Hixson was dominant in the 50-yard freestyle for Wheaton, finishing ahead of all swimmers with a time of 21.04. Lyon sophomore Michael Ruemelin (Chicago, Ill.) tallied 119.25 points on the one-meter board to finish first against all divers.
Junior Kevin Rice (Vienna, Va.) racked up points in three different events for Wheaton, topping Wesleyan in both the 1000-yard freestyle and the 200-yard backstroke. His time of 10:19.68 in the 1000 was good for third overall, while his mark of 2:03.71 placed fourth overall in the 200 backstroke. Rice also finished third overall and second to both Wesleyan and Bridgeport in the 200-yard individual medley with a mark of 2:03.74. Larson picked up a win over Wesleyan and placed third overall in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 48.08. First year transfer Leo Bailon Garcia (Guatemala City, Guatemala) was impressive in his debut for the Lyons, defeating Wesleyan and finishing second overall in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 2:00.33.
Marcus Tran was the runner-up to Hixson in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 21.37 and Andrew Tran placed third overall and second to both Wesleyan and Bridgeport with a mark of 2:15.09 in the 200-yard breaststroke in the final individual event of the day.
Wheaton returns to the pool on Tuesday, January 20 when it hosts Worcester Polytechnic Institute at 6:30 p.m. in Balfour Natatorium.
