Results
Purchase, NY (Jan. 20, 2014) – Five seniors were recognized during a heartfelt speech by Purchase head coach Peter Nestel Monday night, as the Panthers celebrated their final regular-season home meet of the winter in the win column.
Purchase soundly defeated the College of Mount Saint Vincent 109-16 on the men's side and 96-84 on the women's side, finishing both meets in exhibition on a dominating evening of swimming for the hosts. During the first break of the night, Nestel provided some small gifts of appreciation and some extremely kind words.
"This year, I am losing five swimmers, four of which are co-captains," he told the crowd. "They are all dependable, loyal and trustworthy … great leaders and teammates … and hard workers … dedicated and even more importantly, really good people."
Samir Mekrami (SR/Brooklyn, NY), Chris Lynch (SR/East Islip, NY) and Michael Kastner (SR/Windsor, CT) will graduate on the men's side, while Elana Korn (SR/North Bellmore, NY) and Sydney Cohen* (SR/Oceanside, NY) will graduate on the women's side.
Nestel described Mekrami as a "gambler that puts it all on the line." He called Kastner, "a leader by example," and Lynch, "relentless and willing to work hard and take instruction."
The Panther coach also said Cohen followed admirably in the footsteps of her sister and that "her dedication" even lent to "volunteering to swim whatever event necessary." Nestel then described Korn as someone "who could overcome most anything."
The touching 10-minute ceremony highlighted a great night for Purchase. The Panthers also learned this week that they may end up hosting the conference championships in early February, which would then indeed be the final home meet for the five seniors and the two squads.
But if Monday was the last home meet of the year, it was nearly perfect for the Panthers, who won both 200-yard medley relays and followed with first-place victories throughout. Allison Panzironi (JR/Pine Island, NY) won the 1,000 freestyle, as did teammate Aaron Schwartz (SR/Nyack, NY). Mekrami followed shortly later with a win in the 200 free, taking the event in 2:05.58.
Varun Soondar (JR/New Rochelle, NY) won the 50 free and Sam Jaffe (FR/Silver Spring, MD) bested the field in the 200 IM as Purchase raced out to a commanding lead. Kastner performed well in his last home meet, registering a victory in the 100 butterfly.
In event 13, Kayla Holland (FR/Hempstead, NY) helped the women's team distance itself, taking first in the 100 free.
Andrew Kaplan (SO/Cooperstown, NY) and Andrew Latona (FR/Silver Spring, MD) followed with individual wins before Lynch won the 500 free and Haley Ryan (SO/East Hampton, NY) shot past the field in the 500 free as well.
In defeat, CMSV was led by Kylee McGrane, who won the 50 freestyle and the 100 butterfly.
All of the seniors received a framed team photo signed by the entire team, along with a certificate from the Sports Information office. The certificate is a place holder for senior awards and gifts that follow at the annual awards banquet in May.
"I was a very gratifying night," Nestel concluded. "A perfect way to honor our seniors."
