WASHINGTON – The Gallaudet University men's swimming team opened the 2026-27 season in impressive fashion Saturday afternoon with a 93-67 non-conference victory over Hood College at the Field House pool.
This was GU's first men's swimming victory since Oct. 7, 2023, when the Bison defeated Greensboro College, 108-45. The victory snaps a 31-meet regular-season losing streak.
Junior
Alex Wilding (Santa Fe, N.M.) and first years
John McManus (Duluth, Minn.) and
Joshua Hoffnagle (St. Augustine, Fla.) turned in strong performances for the Bison as the trio combined for three individual victories and four runner-up finishes.
Wilding got Gallaudet (1-0) into the win column in the 1,000-yard freestyle, where he touched the wall first in 15 minutes, 25.69 seconds. He later placed second in the 100-yard individual medley (1:15.06) and 100-yard breaststroke (1:25.19).
Hoffnagle sprinted to first place in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 25.42 seconds and added a second-place finish in the 100-yard butterfly (1:05.33).
McManus won the 100-yard backstroke in 1:18.89 after he placed second in the 200-yard freestyle (2:31.78).
Sophomore
Giovanni Fiello (Austin, Texas) also earned an individual victory for the Bison as he won the 100-yard freestyle in 1:13.62. First year
Kila Silva-Ewan (Honolulu, Hawaii) led a one-two Gallaudet finish in the 500-yard freestyle with a winning time of 9:34.11, just ahead of junior
Allen Davis (Port St. Lucie, Fla.) who touched in 9:35.21. First year
Kenneth Palmer (Chicago, Ill.) added points for Gallaudet in the 50- and 100-yard freestyle events.
Gallaudet closed out the meet with a victory in the 200-yard freestyle relay. Hoffnagle, McManus, sophomore
Jordan Antonio (Rochester, N.Y.) and Fiello combined to finish in 1:54.46.
Hood (0-1) picked up five event victories, led by Jake Hauff, who won the 200-yard freestyle (2:00.09) and 100-yard butterfly (56.44). Jacob Gardner won the 100-yard individual medley (1:02.60) and 100-yard breaststroke (1:10.34).
UP NEXT
Gallaudet travels to Randolph College in Lynchburg, Va., next Saturday, Oct. 10, for a tri-meet with the host WildCats and Southern Virginia University.
