The season has been one of vengeance. It has been dedicated to making up for disappointing finishes last year. And so far, the quest has been perfect.

A year ago, the Syracuse men’s swimming and diving teams lost dual meets to St. Bonaventure, West Virginia and Connecticut. This season, the Orangemen have found retribution from last year’s losses by beating all three.

‘Oh, God, it’s important,’ said Mike Anstrom. ‘One of the big things for us at the beginning of the year was to beat these teams. They rested for us last year. UConn came in here and annihilated us. From day one our goal has been to get those teams.’

Storrs, Conn. marked the sight of SU’s latest retribution. Last season, the Huskies beat the Orangemen, 140-101, but Saturday, behind strong performances from Anstrom, Luk Boral, Pat Mugavin, Bobby Schelling, and diver Dewey Shultz, Syracuse walked away with a 128-115 victory.

The win gave the Orangemen an overall record of 4-1 in dual meets this season. The Orangewomen, who now sit at 2-3 in dual-meet competition, swam strong times but could not match up with the depth of the Huskies. They fell, 139-102.

The Orangemen posted eight first-places finishes out of 13 events. They have not lost a dual meet since Nov. 1.

‘Our challenge was with their depth,’ SU coach Lou Walker said, ‘We swam extremely well. It was an excellent effort from our kids and a great win for the guys.’

Boral, a freshman, led the way for the Orangemen. The Poland native brought home two first-place finishes. Boral posted strong times in the 200 butterfly (1:53.60) and the 200 breaststroke (2:04.78). Mugavin, a sophomore, also had a big day for the Orangemen. Mugavin took top finishes in the 500 and 1,000 freestyle with times of 4:38.60 and 9:39.20, respectively.

The 50 freestyle may have been the meet’s most important race. Anstrom led the charge with a time of 21.66 as Syracuse swept the event.

‘It was a very important race,’ Anstrom said. ‘It was a big pick-me-up. I came off the wall after my first turn (at 25 meters), I looked to my right and there was Spence (Raymond). I looked to my left and there was Ryan (Caponera), and I was psyched.’

Said Walker: ‘The one-two-three finishes in the 50 was big for us. That is a crushing defeat in swimming.’

The Orangewomen also swam well but could not piece together a victory. Lisa Wittich won three events against the Huskies. The sophomore took home the 200 (1:54.20), 500 (5:04.79) and 1,000 (10:19.73) freestyle events.

Senior Elyse McDonough performed typically well, taking a pair of races. McDonough won the 200 butterfly and 200 individual medley in 2:05.40 and 2:06.93, respectively.

Saturday the Orangemen will look to continue that vengeance that has lasted throughout the season. The Orangemen will travel to New Jersey where they will take on Seton Hall, another team they lost to last season. And if you think polishing off the four teams that downed the Orangemen last year isn’t on SU’s mind – think again.

‘We’re really looking forward to this meet,’ Raymond said, ‘We don’t wanna just win, we wanna humiliate them. Last year they were focused on us, and we weren’t ready. There was no excuse for that. This year we are much more concentrated.’

Published on January 26, 2004 at 12:00 pm