Though the Syracuse swimming and diving team had just completed its first official meet of the season, senior Josh Scott said SU is already ‘broken down’ and tired. But that did not prevent Scott and SU from easily defeating Colgate on Friday at Webster Pool.

The Syracuse men and women won by wide margins of 132-104 and 139-92, respectively. SU won all 22 of the swimming events while Colgate won all four of the diving events.

Both the men and women are 1-0 this season.

Some of the fatigue may be the result of a rigorous 20-hour-a-week training schedule. But it’s designed to pay off over the course of the entire six-month season.

‘What we are doing practice-wise is clearly having a positive effect in how we’re competing,’ said Syracuse head coach Lou Walker. ‘We finished our races strong. We weren’t falling off at the end.’

Scott was one of four SU swimmers to win two individual events Friday. Scott, a co-captain, won the 200-yard freestyle and the 500-yard freestyle. Scott also swam the freestyle leg of the victorious 400-yard medley relay team.

‘(My times) were a lot faster than I expected,’ Scott said of his individual events. ‘I was trying to establish my technique and get a good feel for the water in the first half and then really pound the second half.’

While Walker stresses swimming each race in quarters, Scott said he always races in halves. He is known on the team for his closing speed.

‘You always know that he is coming after you, even in practices,’ said junior Devon Ackroyd, winner of Friday’s 200-yard individual medley.

Scott came into Friday’s meet focusing on the 500-freestyle. But he ended up happier with his 200-freestyle because he did not swim as hard and still managed to match his time from an early exhibition meet. Even so, saving his energy for the 500-freestyle went according to plan.

‘I was a little upset that he blew by me in the 500; he can really push it,’ said junior Pat Mugavin, who finished second in the race.

Scott finished seventh in the 200-freestyle and eighth in the 500-freestyle at last year’s Big East Championships. As a senior, it is his last chance to compete for an individual title.

‘There is no reason I can’t be top three in both,’ Scott said. ‘I know who’s out there. A lot of it is who shows up that day.’

At least on Friday, it was SU that showed up.

Along with Scott, senior Mike Anstrom, junior Vanessa Martinez and freshman Katie Maaske also won two individual races Friday. After setting a pool record in the 100-yard breaststroke in SU’s exhibition meet, Maaske won the 200-yard breaststroke and the 200-yard individual medley Friday. The 100-yard breaststroke was not contested.

SU travels to Rutgers for the two-day Sonny Werblin Invitational on Oct. 22 and 23. Since team scores won’t be kept, the sole focus for SU swimmers and divers will be matching the times and scores needed to qualify for the Big East Championships in March.

The first road and first two-day meet will be the season’s first big challenge, especially with tired bodies.

‘Coach (Walker) is really working us hard for some reason,’ junior co-captain and 200-yard butterfly winner Rob Persico said. ‘We don’t usually get this worn down for a couple weeks. (Walker) is kind of killing us now. We don’t know why, but he knows what he’s doing – he’s the mastermind.’

Published on October 17, 2004 at 12:00 pm