WINTER PARK, Fla. – The Florida Tech men's and women's swimming teams kicked off the 2026-27 season against Rollins on Saturday, Oct. 3. Both teams combined for 17 first place finishes as the women's team won 147-111 while the men's teams tied 131-131.
 
NOTABLE PERFORMANCES

• The first win of the afternoon came in the men's 200 Medley Relay as Carl Mollenbach, River Streefland, Emiel van Oord and Andy Pleiman combined for a time of 1:29.27. The winning time was over two seconds ahead of the second-place relay team.
• Lia Espinosa took first in the 200 Free with a time of 1:57.07. Espinosa doubled up and won the 100 Free with a time of 53.42. She was ahead of teammate Kayleigh Jollands who finished with a second-place time of 1:57.68.
• Melissa Zucco dominated the 100 Back as she touched the wall with a winning time of 56.70, over a second faster than the second-place finisher. She would take the 200 Back with a time of 2:03.94.
• In his first individual event as a Panther, River Streefland won by over two seconds in the 100 Breast as he finished with a time of 54.26. Streefland would sweep the Breaststoke events as he won the 200 Breast with a time of 2:02.46.
• Akos Hajagos won the 200 Fly by a wide margin as he finished with a time of 1:49.40. The swimmer in second from Rollins came in with a time of 1:54.71. Hajagos added a win in the 100 Free and earned nine team points with a winning time of 45.98. He would finish his day with a win in the 200 IM with a time of 1:51.90.
• In the 50 Free, Florida Tech came away with both winners of the events as Isabella Sarvis swam a time of 24.55 while Andy Pleiman won his event with a time of 20.60.
• Kayleigh Jollands would pick up nine points for Tech with a first-place finish in the 200 Breast with a time of 2:24.75.
• Tech would take both 100 Fly's as Sam Bullard won with a sub-minute time of 59.15 for the women while Emiel van Oord won for the men as he swam a time of 49.67.
• The Panthers ended the day with victories in the 200 Free Relay. The women's 'A' team consisting of Lia Espinosa, Isabella Sarvis, Abby Briggs and Melissa Zucco combined for a time of 1:38.13. The men's 'A' team composed of Manuel Brandner, Emiel van Oord, Collin Reed and Andy Pleiman swam a time of 1:21.50.

 
UP NEXT
The Panthers will next take on Florida Southern in Tech's home opener on Friday, Oct. 16 at 3:00 p.m.