The Gannon University men's swimming team started its 2025 season with a challenging loss in a dual meet against Division I Niagara University on Saturday. Competing at the Oxy Aquatics Center, Coach Milan Medo's squad faced a strong opponent in the host Purple Eagles, ultimately falling with a score of 188-71. 

With this result, Niagara improved to 2-2 for the season, while the Golden Knights fell to 1-3 in dual meet competition.

In the Pool

Several Gannon swimmers delivered impressive individual performances during the meet against Niagara:

• The 200 Medley Relay team, consisting of Nikita Pau Popparcea Greiter, Kuba Loboda (Lublin, Poland), Connor Hebert (Damascus, Md./Damascus), and Nickolas Ambrosiani (Seward, Alaska/Seward), secured third place with a time of 1:35.38.
• Ryan Barclay (Knoxville, Tenn./Bearden) finished third in the 1000 freestyle, clocking in at 10:30.02.
• Ben Williams (Findlay, Ohio/Findlay) placed fourth in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:49.89.
• Dylan Ray (Pinckney, Mich./Pinckney Community) finished fourth in the 100 backstroke, posting a time of 54.82.
• Nikita Pau Popparcea Greiter also obtained a fourth-place finish in the 100 freestyle, recording a time of 49.06.
• Nickolas Ambrosiani (Seward, Alaska/Seward) earned third place in the 200 backstroke with a time of 2:05.24.
• Aidar Sataev (Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan/Forest Hill) claimed third in the 200 breaststroke, finishing with a time of 2:17.02.
• Kuba Loboda (Lublin, Poland) added another third-place finish in the 100 breaststroke.
• Will Retsch (Allison Park, Pa./Hampton) placed fourth in the 200 butterfly, recording a time of 2:04.07.
• Nikita Pau Popparcea Greiter capped off his strong performance with a fourth-place finish in the 50 freestyle, clocking in at 21.88.
• Dylan Ray (Pinckney, Mich./Pinckney Community) finished third in the 200 individual medley (IM) with a time of 2:02.34.
• The 200 Freestyle Relay team, comprising Nikita Pau Popparcea Greiter, Derell Augustine (La Brea, Trinidad & Tobago/Vessigny Secondary School), Koba Loboda, and Connor Hebert (Damascus, Md./Damascus), secured second place with a time of 1:27.31.

 Gannon's next competition will be a tri-meet hosted by Oberlin, which will also feature Malone and Oberlin as contenders. The Golden Knights are focused on bouncing back and building momentum as they prepare for the 2025 PSAC Championship. The meet is scheduled for Saturday, January 18, at 1:00 PM in Carr Pool.