Diving was the difference for the Greenwich boys swimming team in its showdown against FCIAC rival Ridgefield on Saturday.

In the 11 swimming events, the Cardinals and Tigers accumulated the exact same points, but host Greenwich finished 1-2-3 on the 1-meter diving board to take all 13 points and record a 98-85 win in a meet featuring numerous standout performances.

“Only the diving separated the two FCIAC powerhouses, as the Cardinals and Tigers swam to an 85-85 tie in 11 swimming events Greenwich coach Terry Lowe said.

Greenwich began the meet with Justin Jacob, Christian Lanuza, Ryan Jee and Nick Malchow combining to win the 200-yard medley relay with a time of 1:35.58. In the meet’s first individual event, Ridgefield senior Gavin Egerton finished first with a time of 1:45.50. The 200-yard individual medley saw Tigers senior Connor Hunt touch the wall first in 1:55.75. Ridgefield held a 24-22 lead following the 200 IM, but the Cardinals went ahead when senior Nick Malchow won the 50 freestyle (21.54).

Greenwich gained 13 pivotal points in the 1-meter diving event. Sophomore Whitaker Grover earned a first place finish for the Cards, totaling 288.95 points over six dives. Teammates Joel Satir and Jayden Satir were second and third, respectively, for Greenwich in the diving competition. The Cardinals led 45-30 after diving and 56-35 following junior Ryan Jee’s first-place effort in the 100-yard butterfly (52.71).

The Tigers won the next three events – the 100 freestyle, 100 butterfly and 500 freestyle to cut the Cardinals’ advantage to 75-62. Hunt posted a first-place finish in the 100 freestyle (47.63) and the Tigers won the 500 freestyle in 4:45.40. In the 200 freestyle relay, Ridgefield’s Kai O’Malley, Max Wolfenden, Egerton and Hunt combined for a winning time of 1:29.17.

“Competing against Greenwich is maybe the toughest thing I’ve done as a coach in my eighth season,” Ridgefield coach Ronald Vaughan said. “Shout out to my senior captains for leading the charge and getting everyone ready for this. It was an intense environment and overall, I’m happy with our performance. I’m also impressed with how my underclassmen swam, especially Jack Clancy. We’re looking forward to seeing them at the FCIAC meet.”

Jacob and Ridgefield’s Andrew Yu finished in a first place tie in the 100 backstroke (53.87) and Lanuza won the 100 breaststroke (58.21) for Greenwich. The meet concluded with the quartet of Clancy, Johnston, Matthew Weiner and Egerton winning the 400 freestyle relay (3:16.43).

Greenwich (2-0) is back in action again on Wednesday, as it travels to Norwalk High School to face the combined Norwalk/Brien McMahon team. Ridgefield (1-1) visits FCIAC foe Staples on Wednesday.