NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Southern Connecticut men's swimming opened the C.J. Moran era Saturday at the Bruce Hutchinson Natatorium, hosting West Chester and Bridgeport in its 2026-27 season opener. 

The Owls dropped both ends of the double dual, falling 196-47 to West Chester and 169-68 to Bridgeport in the first meet for Moran as head coach. The meet was Southern's first action of the season at home in Hutchinson Natatorium. 

Southern's best team finish came on the boards, where sophomore Nathan Ivans placed third in both diving events. Ivans scored 224.40 on the 1-meter board and 209.78 on the 3-meter board to lead all Owls divers. Freshman Tyler Patchkofsky added a sixth-place finish on 3-meter with 165.60 in his collegiate debut and seventh on 1-meter with 151.05. 

In the freestyle events, senior Ben Frazer paced the Owls in the middle-distance events. Frazer finished sixth in the 200 freestyle in 1:48.45 and fifth in the 100 freestyle in 48.89, leading a group that included junior Richie Hall who was fifth in the 200 in 1:47.41 and fourth in the 100 in 48.56. 

Sophomore Daniel Lazar and sophomore Jack Simmons provided sprint depth. Lazar added a sixth-place finish in the 100 back in 57.23 and senior Kris Janney was ninth in the event. 

Freshman Luke Newcomb highlighted the breaststroke group for Moran in his first collegiate meet. Newcomb finished third overall in the 100 breaststroke in 59.09 and was the top Owl in the event. Freshman Spencer Bridgman was eighth in 1:03.92, while senior Lucas Quiroga added depth in the breaststroke. 

In the butterfly, junior Alex Kim led Southern with a fifth-place finish in the 100 fly in 52.75, followed by freshman Christian Garcia in seventh in 53.47. 

In the individual medley, Garcia finished seventh in the 200 IM in 2:02.56, with Janney ninth in 2:04.51. In the distance freestyle to open the meet, sophomore Alexander Ahrens led Southern in seventh in the 1,000 freestyle in 10:50.02, with junior James Custer eighth in 11:02.14. In the 500 freestyle, Janney led the Owls in ninth in 5:03.30 with Hall 10th in 5:05.84. 

In relays, the 200 medley relay of Janney, Newcomb, Kim and senior Travis Scott opened the day in fifth in 1:38.03, while the B relay of Miller, Bridgman, Shand and Cole McConnell was sixth in 1:45.91. Southern closed with a third-place finish in the 400 freestyle relay in 3:13.87 from Hall, Frazer, Kim and Lazar, with the B team of Ahrens, McConnell, Simmons and Kenny Lagamao sixth in 3:25.37. 

For Moran, who was named head coach this summer, the opener gave his roster a first look at dual-meet competition. The meet marked Moran's official debut after taking over a program with 35 combined NE10 championships. 

The Owls are back in action when they compete at Fairfield on Oct. 2-3.