By Samantha Wood

The swimming and diving team defeated both Maine and Central Connecticut Saturday, recovering after a tough loss in their season opener against Boston College last week.

The tri-meet ended with scores of 152-141 against Maine and 198-91 against Central Connecticut.

“This was a meet we were confident going into, so we were able to switch up events,” said senior co-captain Elena Alvarez. “Most people got to swim off-events, and it was nice to do something different and still swim really well.”

Alvarez had a strong performance, winning both the 100-yard butterfly and backstroke, while freshman Rachael Peterson, Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Diver of the Week, also did well, taking first in the 3-meter dive.

At BC last week, it was an entirely different story. The Huskies fell 170-130, ending hopes that they would repeat last year’s undefeated season.

“We actually performed better than we did last year when we won the meet,” said head coach Roy Coates. “Boston College has 16 freshmen, which made a big difference in their performance. BC was much better than they have been.”

The team said they would remain optimistic and would continue to gain momentum going into this week’s tri-meet.

“We expect to perform better and we expect to win,” Coates said. “Until then, our goal is to improve individual performances and just worry about what’s going on in practice.”

Practice paid off as the Huskies, now with the momentum of two wins behind them, gear up for Friday’s quad-meet at James Madison.

“This upcoming meet is against four teams, so we’ll be swimming our best races with our best lineups,” Alvarez said. “Right now we’re just really focusing on racing strategy and mentally preparing for the challenges ahead.”

The match at James Madison will take place Friday and Saturday. Drexel, William ‘ Mary and Old Dominion will also be participating in the all-day event.