By: Ryan Sosic '19
STEUBENVILLE, Ohio. – A number of strong individual performances by the Baldwin Wallace University men's swimming and diving team helped the Yellow Jackets defeated the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford in the Steubenville High School Natatorium.
BW (4-7) defeated Pitt-Bradford by a score of 121-48.
The Yellow Jackets were led by freshman stroker Michael Lewis (Lancaster) and sophomore stroker Michael Morsch (Phoenix, Ariz./Notre Dame Preparatory) as each both won two events. Lewis finished at the top of the 100-yard backstroke and 200-yard individual medley, posting times of 58.15 and 2:05.25. Morsch won the 200-yard freestyle with a career-best time of 1:52.71 and the 100-yard butterfly with a career-best time of 56.41.
Also earning victories were sophomore freestyler Matthew Butt (Westfield Center/Cloverleaf), senior Academic All-Ohio Athletic Conference stroker John Beyer (Columbus/Cetennial) and junior All-Ohio Athletic Conference diver Evan Rinaldi (Cleveland/Cleveland Heights). Butt took the top spot in the 100-yard freestyle after registering a time of 51.25. Beyer earned a first-place victory after posting a time of 23.17 in the 50-yard freestyle while also finishing runner-up in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 52.35. Rinaldi won both diving events with scores of 144.60 and 148.05.
In addition, junior All-Ohio Athletic Conference stroker Greg Shaw (Colorado Springs, Colo./Manitou Springs) finished in second-place with a career-best and season-best time of 2:12.54 in the 200-yard individual medley and earned a third-place finish in the 100-yard breaststroke, registering a season-best time of 1:13.56. Senior stroker Tyler Allison (Napoleon) finished runner-up in the 50-yard freestyle after posting a time of 23.33 and earned a third-place finish in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 1:00.52.
In relay action, the 200-yard medley team of Morsch, Lewis, Shaw and Allison captured a first-place finish after registering a time of 1:43.89. The relay team of Butt, Beyer, Rinaldi and sophomore freestyler Conner Hartup (Westlake) finished at the top of the 200-yard freestyle with a season-best time of 1:37.98.
BW closes out the 2018-19 regular season on Saturday, February 2 when it hosts a non-conference dual against crosstown rival Case Western Reserve University in the BW Natatorium on Seniors' Day at 1 p.m.
The 2019 OAC Swimming and Diving Championships will be contested on February 14-16 at the Ocasek Natatorium on the campus of the University of Akron. Preliminary action begins each day at 10 a.m. with finals to be held each night at 6 p.m.
