ALFRED, NY – The Alfred University men's swimming & diving team kicked off its new season on Saturday afternoon in the McLane Natatorium, but fell to Rochester Institute of Technology, 186-86.
 
The Saxons had a grouping of second place finishes on the day with Emiliano Terrazas (La Paz, Bolivia/Saint Andrew's) and Colby Watkins both earning two in individual events. Terrazas swam a 1:01.34 in the 100-yard breaststroke and a 2:13.71 in the 200-yard version. He also picked up a first place exhibition win in the 200-yard individual medley in a third-place time of 2:02.43. Watkins raced in one of the closest finishes between not just two lanes, but three as he was narrowly edged out of first place in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 53.95. The first place time was 53.84 and the third place was 53.99. Watkins also picked up a silver in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 22.72.
 
"It was great to get back into a meet scenario with some normal training under our belts," Head Coach Brian Striker '00 said. "We were clearly a bit rusty today and have some work to do, but there is a great base to work off of. We are very excited for what the rest of the season holds for us."
 
William LaMastus (Maumee, OH/Anthony Wayne) had strong finishes in the backstroke events as he earned second place with a mark of 2:02.45 in the 200-yard and picked up a third place in the 100 with a time of 54.74. Phillip Volaski (Poughquag, NY/Arlington) followed LaMastus in the 200 with a time of 2:02.87 for third place.
 
The final second place finish by individual swimmers came from Fernando Lagos (Tegucigalpa, Honduras/Escuela e Instituo Lincoln) with his time of 1:51.85, out-touching the third place time of 1:52.89 in the 200-yard freestyle.
 
The Saxons will next head to Nazareth College on Friday, October 29 at 5:00pm.