The College of Staten Island men’s and women’s swimming and diving squads officially kicked off their seasons this evening, hosting the Pace University Setters at the CSI Sports & Recreation Center.  In a very rare occurrence, the Dolphins men swam to a 118-118 draw, while the Setters raced past the women, 170-43.  Both men’s teams are now an identical 0-0-1 this season.  The Pace women are 1-0, while the Dolphin women are 0-1.
The men’s meet was a tight race the entire way and culminated with an exhilarating ending that was a cliffhanger for nearly everyone in attendance.  Despite the tie finish, CSI never trailed in the contest, taking a 13-4 lead right out of the gate with a win in the 400-yard Medley Relay.  After first place finishes by Vladislav Romanov, Pavel Buyanov and Danila Novikov,the Dolphins continued to keep Pace at bay, earning a double-digit lead after four events.
CSI earned their biggest lead after 9 events.  Romanov powered to a 52.65 finish in the 100-yard Backstroke to help CSI to a 91-73 advantage.  From there, however, the Setters chipped away, and after Oren Taylor scored 95.45 in 3-meter Diving competition, Pace was within three, 101-98, with two events left.  Finally, in the 400-yard Freestyle Relay, Pace had a chance to win by taking the top two spots, but the CSI team of Novikov, Joe Lee, Robert Stumpf, and Louis Algarin just narrowly edged out the Pace foursome to take second place, preserving at least a tie.
Over on the women’s side, Pace led from start to finish, and did it with some impressive runs in the pool.  The Setters took first and second place in the first five events before Jeanne Leung and Priscilla Alvarez scored much-needed points in 1-meter Diving.  
Kaitlyn Lynch and Georgina Goulding scored two first-place finishes and another in the 400-yard Medley Relay to earn three each on the night, while Cassandra Gentile scored first place with very impressive diving efforts.  For the Dolphins, Gabriella Villarruel earned a pair of third-place finishes, while Vasiliki Stergioula and Jessica Pifalo also placed third place in an event as well over the NCAA Division II Setters.
Both CSI swim programs will get a little layoff before their next meet.  The teams will open up CUNYAC play against John Jay College on the road in November 5.