ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College men's and women's swimming and diving teams turned in strong performances on Saturday against Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), with both squads earning decisive victories. The women's team claimed a 219-81 victory, while the men secured a 176.5-123.5 win.

The women opened the meet with a victory in the 200-yard medley relay, as the quartet of Samantha Bender, Sydney Koehler, Kathleen Papiernik and Spencer Carroll touched the wall in 1:45.77. The Bombers continued to build momentum throughout the afternoon, earning multiple event victories.

Riley Hauber led the way in the backstroke events, winning the 100-yard backstroke in 57.79 before adding a second-place finish in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 2:07.53. Koehler also had a strong afternoon, claiming the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:04.83 and the 200-yard breaststroke in 2:22.56.

Papiernik collected two individual victories, touching first in the 100-yard butterfly (56.46) and 200-yard individual medley (2:09.83). She was joined by Elizabeth Bodie, who won the 200-yard butterfly in 2:06.92. Other individual winners included Sadie Plut in the 50-yard freestyle (24.53), Bender in the 100-yard freestyle (52.81) and Rebecca Clemente in the 500-yard freestyle (5:23.80).

On the diving boards, Grace O'Malley swept both events, winning the 1-meter competition with 239.10 points and the 3-meter competition with 239.60 points. The Bombers capped off the meet with a victory in the 400-yard freestyle relay, as Charlotte Barton, Koehler, Hauber and Bender combined for a time of 3:35.67.

On the men's side, the Bombers were led by several standout individual performances, highlighted by Ben Lajoie, who collected two victories. Lajoie won the 200-yard butterfly in 1:55.23 before taking the 200-yard individual medley in 1:55.59. He also contributed to Ithaca's second-place finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay.

The Bombers opened the meet with a victory in the 200-yard medley relay, as Marshall Adams, Mateo Graff, Wyatt DeBoyace and Ray Mukoyama combined for a time of 1:35.39. Ithaca continued to find success across the pool, with Alec Kutsner winning the 100-yard backstroke in 51.17, Spencer Alderson claiming the 50-yard freestyle in 21.67 and Mukoyama touching first in the 100-yard freestyle in 47.62.

Graff added another individual victory in the 200-yard breaststroke, finishing in 2:12.54. DeBoyace also shared the top spot in the 100-yard butterfly, tying RPI's Mark Yukhno with a time of 52.60. In the distance events, Bennett Molitor-Kirsch led the way with a victory in the 1,000-yard freestyle, touching the wall in 10:01.10.

Ithaca closed out the meet in strong fashion, winning the 400-yard freestyle relay. Alderson, Will Stanczewski, Mukoyama and Molitor-Kirsch combined for a time of 3:08.88 to secure the event victory.

The Bombers will return to Kelsey Partridge Bird Natatorium on Saturday, November 7, as they host their rival SUNY Cortland Red Dragons for an 11 a.m. start.