COLIN HART
Special to The Leader
The Fredonia men’s swimming and diving team wrapped up their season last Saturday with a loss to SUNY Cortland by a combined score of 95-164.
The Blue Devils finished the year with a disappointing 1-10 team record, a learning experience for the large contingent of underclassmen. But for the four seniors — Ben Chatley, Nathan Link, Graham Jones and Bill Bradley — this marked their last time competing in Steele Hall.
When talking about this year’s senior class, head coach Arthur Wang points toward their resiliency.
“If I’m going to use an adjective to describe this group,” said coach Wang, “this is the group that stuck with it. By that I mean these are glue people who bought into my program and who really showed quite a bit of improvement in everything that they’ve done.”
“Without diminishing their ability,” continued Wang, “these were not super accomplished swimmers coming in. These guys stuck to it and improved significantly. They’re glue people; they put forth their commitment for four years and they’ve achieved quite a bit.”
Senior Bill Bradley, an English major, represents exactly what coach Wang wants out of his swimmers. A graduate of Dunkirk High School, Bradley was not highly recruited but put in the work anyways — he went from painstakingly re-learning butterfly techniques his freshman season to becoming a team captain three years later.
“We try to set a good example,” said Bradley, in regards to his fellow seniors. “You really need to work hard for swimming. You need to put the work in to get something out of it.”
Even though the overall record suggests otherwise, the team has seen plenty of strong individual efforts this year.
Jones placed first in three events on Senior Day — the 200, 500 and 1,000-yard freestyle. Bradley also wrapped up a successful career with wins in both the 100 and 200-yard butterfly. Sophomore diver Christian Krasnek was once again a double-winner, coming in first off the 1-meter and 3-meter board.
Now that the regular season is over, the team’s attention turns to the SUNYAC championships. The four-day event begins on Feb. 21 at Erie Community College’s Flickinger Center.