BEREA, Ohio – The Mount Union men's swimming and diving team defeated Baldwin Wallace 170 - 64 Saturday afternoon in the 2021 Ohio Athletic Conference dual-meet season opener at the BW Natatorium. 

Leading the way for the Purple Raiders was sophomore Jason Tondra (Canton / Massillon Jackson) who secured first-place victories in the 50-yard freestyle (22.14) and the 100-yard freestyle (48.38) and junior Isaiah Acosta (Buffalo, N.Y. / St. Joseph) who took first place in the 200-yard freestyle (1:50.45) and the 100-yard breaststroke (1:01.19). In the 100-yard butterfly, freshman Eli Holm (Murrysville, Pa. / Franklin Regional), senior Derek Currey (McDonald, Pa. / West Allegheny), and freshman John Webb (Wadsworth) placed first, second, and third, respectively. Sophomore Nathan Williams (Columbia, S.C. / Irmo) finished first in the 200-yard Individual Medley with a time of 2:00.11 which sets a new pool record at the B-W Natatorium. Other notable first place finishers were junior Kyle Kresl (Fort Wayne, Ind. / Carroll) in the 1000-yard freestyle (10:40.76) and junior Ben Hoffmann (St. Cloud, Minn. / St. Cloud Technical) in the 100-yard backstroke (54.66).

The 200-yard medley relay consisting of Hoffman, junior Nick Dye (Massillon / Massillon Jackson), Currey, and senior Mark Silver (Painesville / Riverside) secured a first-place victory as well as the 200-yard freestyle relay consisting of Williams, Silver, junior Jeff LaBianco (Dayton / Chaminade Juilenne), and Tondra which also broke a pool record with a time of 1:27.56.

Mount Union hosts John Carroll in the home opener Saturday, Feb. 6 at 1 p.m. in the Hammond Natatorium in Alliance.