Swim and Dive Wraps 2024 Calendar Year, Looks Ahead to 2025

As the St. Bonaventure men's and women's swim and dive programs turn the page on 2024, the Bonnies have found success through the opening portion of the schedule, both individually and as a team. 

Despite a season-opening loss at Youngstown State, the men’s squad secured a bounce-back win over Niagara in their home opener Oct. 5. The Bonnies got back on the right track, defeating Little Three rival and MAAC preseason runners-up Niagara 150-144. 

The women's team fell just short in their first two meets, falling just two points shy at Youngstown State and dropping their home opener to MAAC preseason favorites Niagara, 147-133. 

Senior Halle Myers led the way for Bona against the Purple Eagles with three individual wins. Myers touched the wall first in the 50 and 100-freestyle as well as the 100-fly.

After the Youngstown State meet, the Bonnies earned two Atlantic 10 Athlete of the Week honors. 

Freshman Mark Mizsei was named the A-10 Rookie of the Week for his efforts against the Penguins. Mizsei posted wins in the 200-fly and 500-freestyle. 

Myers was selected as the A-10 Women's Performer of the Week. Myers won the 50 and 100-freestyle at the meet as well as helping the 200-medley and 400-freestyle relays to wins. 

Prior to that Oct. 5 meet in the Reilly Center Pool, the Bonnies dedicated their new record board to alumnus Joseph Murphy, ’00. 

Joe Murphy was a 2000 graduate and four-year letterwinner for the men's swim team serving as captain his senior year. During his time as a Bonnie, Joe specialized in the sprint free and fly events and was a multiple event Atlantic 10 Champion and former school record holder.

The same philanthropic spirit that Joe possessed has now been reciprocated through donations collected from teammates, classmates, friends, co-workers, and his Buffalo Leadership Class, towards the Joe Murphy Memorial Record Board that is now displayed in the Reilly Center Pool.

Both the men's and women's teams found success at the Colgate Invitational with the men taking first place and the women finishing as the runners-up. 

The men tallied 1185.5 points to beat out second-place Massachusetts with 523 points. Colgate and Le Moyne rounded out the four-team leaderboard. 

The women's team earned a second-place finish just 11 points behind first-place Colgate. The Bonnies beat out Atlantic 10 Conference foe Massachusetts as well as Saint Francis and Le Moyne.

Each team posted 10 event wins while the men recorded four podium sweeps. 

Following the Colgate Invitational, the Bonnies visited Le Moyne Oct. 19, putting up an historic performance. The teams combined for 13 pool records on their way to a 164-78 victory for the men and a 152-85 win for the women. 

Ben Giera and Ben O'Neill had standout performances against the Dolphins. 

Ben Giera broke his own Bonnies program record in the 1-meter dive with a score of 343.9. Giera surpassed his previous 1-meter Bonnies best of 342.98 set Jan. 28, 2023. 

The junior earned a bid to NCAA Zones in both the 1-meter and 3-meter for his performance at Le Moyne. 

O’Neill also earned a bid to NCAA Zones on both boards, posting scores of 329.6 in the 3-meter and 325.2 in the 1-meter. 

Myers posted a pair of pool records in the 50 (23.90) and 100-freestyle (52.54). Anna Bojana Forjan matched Myers with two pool records of her own in the 200-IM (2:09.78) and 100-backstroke (58.09). 

Rookie standout Mark Mizsei set two pool records in one swim. He set the new top mark in the 1000 and 500-free going 4:45.44 in the first half of the 1000 race and finishing with a time of 9:43.06. Mizsei earned his second Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week honors for his efforts at Le Moyne. 

Alexander Behr (200-free), Kevyn Collazo Torres (200-IM), and Luigi Termine (100-back) also posted pool records at the event along with the 200-medley and 200-freestyle relay teams. 

Both teams dropped a pair of dual meets to Army and Cornell. The women found indivudal success against Cornell as Myers broke the Reilly Center Pool record in the 50-freestyle with a time of 23.16. 

Freshman Phoebe McClaren was honored as the A-10 Rookie of the Week after winning the 1000-freestyle and finishing as the runner-up in the 500-freestyle against the Big Red. 

The Bonnies bounced back for the losses in a big way at the Magnus Cup. 

The men's team finished as runners-up in the three-day event behind hosts Cleveland State. Bona collected 1,312 points to beat out eight other teams, including Youngstown State, Xavier, and Niagara. 

Grad transfer Aidan Kreiley had a breakout meet, setting a new program record in the 200-breaststroke. Kreiley’s time of 1:58.07 broke previous record-holder Hylton Collison’s time of 1:58.31 that he set in February 2020.

Luigi Termine and Alexander Behr inked their names into meet history, setting Magnus Cup meet records. 

Termine went 22.53 in the 50-backstroke while Behr put up a time of 1:45.25 in the 200-fly to set new meet top marks. 

Another standout performer at the mid-season invitational was sophomore Johnny Edwards. Edwards claimed third in the 500-freestyle with a time of 4:30.41, the fifth quickest in the Atlantic 10 Conference this season.

The Colfax, N.C. native also owns the fifth fastest A-10 time in the 1650-free at 15:45.03 set at the Magnus Cup. 

It was a seventh place finish for the women's squad in a 14 team field at the mid-season invite. The Bonnies bested both Little Three rivals Niagara and Canisius as well as Youngstown State and Le Moyne. 

Bojana Forjan led the way for the Bonnies, making four A-final races over the three-day event. The sophomore finished 10th in the 200-IM (2:06.83), sixth in the 100-back (55.70), fourth in the 200-back (2:00.85), and fifth in the 50-back (26.04).

Myers had another standout performance for the Bonnies, qualifying for three A-final races. Myers' best finish of the meet came in the 50-fly where she took sixth place, touching the wall in 24.68. She also competed in the 100-fly (55.57) and 100-free (50.76).
 
Myers' time of 50.76 in the 100-free is the sixth-fastest recorded by an Atlantic 10 Conference athlete this year.

The 200-freestyle relay squad of  Myers, Nele Vetter, Bojana Forjan, and Ellie Kraus claimed a podium finish with a time of 1:33.00.

In their 2024 finale, both the men's and women's teams recorded dominant victories over Little Three rival Canisius. For the women, it was their 10th consecutive win over the Golden Griffins. 

The men's team won every event of the meet, sweeping the podium in three events. 

Junior diver Sanayia Joefield had a standout meet on the women's side. Joefield won on both boards, posting a score of 214.35 in the 3-meter and 210.98 in the 1-meter. 

The Bonnies return to action in 2025, hosting Cleveland State Jan. 17-18. They travel to Colgate for a dual meet and then to the Cavalier Invitational as their last events before the Atlantic 10 Championship meet Feb. 19-22.