Kingston, R.I. - October 28, 2023 - The Springfield College men's swimming and diving team began its season against Coast Guard on Saturday and was bested by a 198-87 margin.
Springfield took third in the 400 medley to begin the meet as Gerold Gutierrez (Milford, Conn.), Rocky Tang (Hong Kong), Luke Zonghetti (Tolland, Conn.), and Zavier Villanueva (Wilbraham, Mass.) raced a 3:42.54.
Ryan Goolsbey (East Lyme, Conn.) took runner-up honors in the 1,000 free with a 10:16.71 and registered a 4:57.06 for third place.
Dan Backlund (Duxbury, Mass.) placed second in the 50 free in 21.90, swam a 1:51.69 in the 200 free, and tied for third in the 100 free with teammate Jordon McMillan (Maraval, Trinidad and Tobago) in 49.18. McMillan also posted a 55.56 in the 100 back and Gutierrez finished second in the 200 back in 2:02.66.
Tang swam a 1:03.18 in the 100 breast and completed the 200 breast in 2:20.26 before registering a 2:06.39 in the 200 IM. Zonghetti also notched a 2:06.37 in the 200 fly and added a 55.28 in the 100 fly.
On the diving boards, Christian Butler (North Haven, Conn.) swept the top honors as he scored a 235.90 on the one-meter and was credited with a 219.90 on the three-meter.
To end the afternoon, Backlund, McMillan, Viet-Anh Nguyen (East Longmeadow, Mass.), and Zonghetti combined for 1:28.18 in the 200 free relay.
The Pride will host MIT next Saturday.
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