ROCHESTER, NY – The Alfred University men's swimming & diving team began its 2022-23 season with a road dual-meet at Rochester Institute of Technology on Saturday afternoon.
 
The Saxons fell, 215-79 to the Tigers. "It is pretty tough to open up a season against what is one of the better teams in the area right now," Head Coach, Brian Striker '00 said. "We had no misconceptions about what RIT would bring to the table today. Our focus heading into this meet was to compete at the highest level that we could, this being the first chance to assess the progress we have made through our training."
 
Both Fernando Lagos (Tegucigalpa, Honduras/Escuela e Instituo Lincoln) and Emiliano Terrazas (La Paz, Bolivia/Saint Andrew's) recorded a second place and a third place finish on their afternoon. Lagos took second in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 1:59.66 and a third place finish in the 100-yard butterfly, swimming 52.85 on Saturday. Terrazas got both of his top finishes in the breaststroke events, taking second in the 200 with a time of 2:14.77 and swimming 52.85 in the 100 for third place.
 
"We have some pretty ambitious goals this season, and most of the results today reassured me that we are in a great place with our progression in comparison to first meets in some of our more recent seasons," Coach Striker said. "Most of our efforts today are tracking ahead of where we were a year ago, which is what I like to see. The key for us, will be to stay focused on where we want to be in February, and consistently take steps in that direction."
 
Phillip Volaski (Poughquag, NY/Arlington) also picked up a Top-3 finish in the season-opener. He took second in the 200-yard backstroke, clocking in a time of 2:01.17.
 
The Saxons will next host the Golden Flyers of Nazareth College on Friday, October 28 at 5:00pm in the McLane Natatorium.