Bruce Marchionda earned his first victory as coach of the men’s and women’s swimming and diving team in the opening match of the season against Delta State Saturday.

The women’s team won 123-105, taking first in every event. The men’s team won 114-108.

The only events they did not win were the 200- and 500-yard freestyle and 3-meter diving.

The scores were closer than they should have been because Western swimmers raced exhibition in the last third of the meet and did not earn points, Marchionda said.

He said the team met the expectations set before the meet, not only to win, but also to compete aggressively and support one another as a team.

One of the challenges the team faces this season is integrating 26 new swimmers and divers.

“I was very pleased with the incoming class,” Marchionda said of their performance Saturday.

Marchionda compared all the swimmers’ times to where they were this time last season and found that 80 percent of the team has gotten faster.

Improvements like these can help the team achieve their goals for the season. The expectations include defending their Sun Belt Conference titles, going undefeated and qualifying swimmers and divers for the NCAA Championships.

Marchionda said he knows these goals will be difficult to achieve. In part, he said, the challenge comes from other schools in the conference building better facilities and having more scholarship money.

After six weeks of training, Marchionda said he is pleased with where the team stands.

He said the senior class is doing a great job leading the young team.

Senior Amber Miller is realistic about challenges the team will face in the conference, but said the freshmen are stepping up.

“Everyone is adjusting really well,” she said. “Bruce has high expectations, and I think everyone’s going above and beyond that.”

On the women’s team, Marchionda said depth, especially in distance events, is their strength.

“We will win meets because we’ll score more people than anyone else,” he said.

Developing the freshmen will be important for both teams, especially the men’s.

“We lost nine men last year, and all of them were very good,” Marchionda said. “That’s just hard to replace.”

He said the men’s sprinters are a little better than last year.

The team has two weeks to prepare for their next meet against Butler at home on Oct. 29.

Marchionda said team will practice being aggressive early in races and getting in better shape aerobically.

Reach Laura Clark

at sports@wkuherald.com.

“This is the fourth year that (junior midfielder) Daniel (Payne), Rich, and myself have played together,” Medlock said. “With that we’ve learned to play with each other and read each other a lot more off the ball.”

Defensively, Schroeder ranks second in the conference with 47 saves this season and the team is ranked fourth in goals allowed.

Senior midfielder Jacob Isenhour said the defensive improvements have helped the offense improve as well.

“With our defense being experienced, most of our practice time had been going towards offensive movement,” he said. “We’ve been having our forwards playing behind their defense, so our midfield can get into the attack.”

Western will look to win their second conference match at 7 p.m. tomorrow at Vanderbilt.

Holmes said with a good performance against Evansville, the Toppers now look to keep their solid play going.

“We went through that mid-season slump. In soccer, it happens,” he said. “You don’t win what you think you deserve, but the guys feel good and are looking forward to playing what could be one of Vanderbilt’s best teams.”

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“This is the fourth year that (junior midfielder) Daniel (Payne), Rich, and myself have played together,” Medlock said. “With that we’ve learned to play with each other and read each other a lot more off the ball.”

Defensively, Schroeder ranks second in the conference with 47 saves this season and the team is ranked fourth in goals allowed.

Senior midfielder Jacob Isenhour said the defensive improvements have helped the offense improve as well.

“With our defense being experienced, most of our practice time had been going towards offensive movement,” he said. “We’ve been having our forwards playing behind their defense, so our midfield can get into the attack.”

Western will look to win their second conference match at 7 p.m. tomorrow at Vanderbilt.

Holmes said with a good performance against Evansville, the Toppers now look to keep their solid play going.

“We went through that mid-season slump. In soccer, it happens,” he said. “You don’t win what you think you deserve, but the guys feel good and are looking forward to playing what could be one of Vanderbilt’s best teams.”

Reach Laura Clark at sports@wkuherald.com.