Comets finish the dual meet portion of their schedule with a perfect 7-0 record

The Olivet College men's swimming and diving team defeated Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) rival Kalamazoo College, 151-89, this afternoon at the Upton Center pool in Olivet. With the win, the Comets end the dual meet portion of their schedule with a perfect 7-0 overall record and 5-0 MIAA. Prior to the meet, Olivet recognized Steve Dastoli (Kalamazoo), who was competing in his final home meet.

Olivet got off to a fast start with a first-place finish in the 400-yard medley relay. The team of Ananta Fetters (Fennville/Holland), Dustin Meisner (Temperance/Erie Mason), Mitch Powers (Kalamazoo/ Central) and Igor Rasula (Belgrade, Serbia) clocked-in at 3:40.57. The Comets continued their winning trend with a 1-2 finish in the 1,000-yard freestyle. Sophomore Brian Jaffee (Bowling Green, Ohio) took top honors at 10:28.11, followed by sophomore Jason Wheatley (Portage/Central) at 10:38.89.

Olivet claimed the top three spots in the 200-yard freestyle. The order was freshman Steven Davis (Davidsonville, Md./DeMatha), 1:49.00; junior Juan Aguirre (Queretaro, Mexico), 1:49.69; and freshman Brian Johnson (Lansing/Eastern), 1:53.81. Powers kept the winning going with a first-place finish in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 22.47 seconds.

Despite a second-place finish in the 200-yard individual medley, freshman Yury Bylina (Minsk, Belarus) broke the school record with a time of 1:59.58, only .03 behind the winner. Dastoli was second in the one-meter dive with 228.30 points.

The Comets had another 1-2 finish, this time in the 200-yard butterfly. Sophomore Koji Takahashi (Etobicoke, Ontario/Silver Thorn CI) led the way with a pool record time of 1:58.91, followed by Bylina at 2:00.89. Powers claimed his second individual win on the day in the 100-yard freestyle. His time of 48.31 seconds broke the pool record by .02 seconds.

Johnson took top honors in the 200-yard backstroke at 2:04.67. Davis was first in the 500-yard freestyle with a pool record time of 4:49.21. The last 1-2 Olivet finish was in the 200-yard breaststroke. Meisner touched the wall first in 2:12.95, followed by freshman Ryan Key (Phoenix, Ariz./Brophy Prep) at 2:18.65. The 400-yard freestyle relay team of Aguirre, Bylina, Rasula and Takahashi had the fastest time (3:16.21).

Olivet is now idle until the 2006 MIAA Championships Feb. 9-11 at Jenison High School. Preliminaries begin each day at 10 a.m., followed by finals each night at 6 p.m.