CAMBRIDGE, Mass.- With two weeks remaining the regular season competition, UMBC’s Justin Bronson (Oshawa, Ontario, Canada/Msgr. Paul Dwyer) and Stony Brook University’s Darcy Heuser (Centerville, Ohio) earn male and female Swimmer of the Week recognition, while Stony Brook’s Julian Acevedo (Long island city, N.Y.) earned the male Diver of the Week honor. No female divers were nominated for the award.
Bronson, a three-time winner of the weekly award this season, earned three individual victories along and a gold in the 400-yard freestyle relay to help propel the Retrievers past host William and Mary, 173-123. The senior touched first in the 100 free (46.77), 200 free (1:42.03) and 500 free (4:41.83). Bronson currently holds the fastest times in America East in all three events, in addition to the 100 fly (49.51).
Heuser, who has earned female Swimmer of the Week for the third time this season, touched first in the 1,000, 500 and 200-yard freestyles with times of 10:44.03, 5:13.81 and 1:55.16, respectively. Additionally, the rookie swam the anchor leg for the winning 400-yard free relay team to help the Seawolves earn a win over America East rival Binghamton.
Acevedo, a senior, had a first-place showing on the 1M diving board against visiting Binghamton, scoring 273.75 and beating the runner up by almost 10 points. The Seawolves went on to fall to the Bearcats, 132-166.
Binghamton- The Bearcats traveled to America East rival Stony Brook on Saturday afternoon, where the men topped the Seawolves, 166-132, and the women dropped a 140-160 decision. The men earned six individual victories, four of which came from senior Brenna Varanda and sophomore Jason chen. Varanda touched first in the 200 breast (2:06.41) and the 200IM (1:55.99), while Chen led the pack in the 100 (54.07) and the 200 back (1:54.51). For the women, sophomore Brittany Detlef earned two individual victories in the 100 and 200 fly, touching in 1:00.51 and 2:13.61, respectively. Amanda Ciccone, a sophomore, earned a pair of her own, earning first in the 50 free (25.05) and the 100 free (54.64).
Binghamton's Story
Boston- The Terriers did not compete this week, but travel to America East rival Maine next weekend for their last meet prior to America East Conference Championship on February 19-22.
Maine- The Black Bears traveled to Boston College this weekend for a two-day meet with the Eagles, Dartmouth and Rhode Island where the men finished third and the women fourth. Senior captain Colleen Miller once again highlighted the efforts for the women, winning the 1650 and 500 freestyle events with times of 10:39.82 and 5:09.64, respectively. Sophomore Caitlin Shelley contributed valuable points to the effort earning third in the 100 breaststroke (1:10.74), fifth in the 200 breaststroke (2:32.44) and ninth in the 400 IM (4:52.80). Jeremy Bender led the men’s squad, placing fifth in the 400IM and seventh in the 1,650 freestyle with respective times of 4:24.54 and 10:19.52.
Maine's Story
UMBC- The Retrievers traveled to Virginia to face William and Mary in a dual meet on Saturday, with the men earning a 173-123 victory, and the women falling 115-181 to the Tribe. Senior Justin Bronson continued to lead the men’s squad, tallying an impressive four golds on the day. Bronson won the 100 free (46.77), 200 free (1:42.03), 500 free (4:41.83) and was part of the first-place 400 freestyle relay team. Sophomore Brad Reitz put forth a multi-gold effort, winning the 100 fly (51.49), 200 fly (1:54.03) and the 200IM (1:56.39). On the women’s side, junior transfer Jennifer Esposito placed first in the 200 fly in 2:06.97 and junior Tereza Kaplanova won the 200 breast in 2:25.49.
UMBC's Story
UNH- The Wildcats did not compete this week, and will continue to train until the America East Conference Championship at Boston University on February 19-22.
Stony Brook- The Seawolves hosted their final home meet of the season against America East rival Binghamton, earning a victory for the women, 160-140, but dropping a 132-166 decision for the men. Freshman Darcy Heuser was the driving force in the women’s campaign, touching first in the 1,000 (10:44.03), 500 (5:13.81) and 200-yard freestyles (1:55.16) while swimming the anchor leg of the first-place 400-yard freestyle relay (3:39.29). Senior Lucy Liu, who swam alongside Heuser in the 400 free relay, went on to touch first in the 100 backstroke with a time of 1:01.06. For the men, sophomore standout Lukasz Ochmanski touched first in the 500 and 1,000 yard freestyles with respective times of 4:43.02 and 9:47.20. Senior diver Julian Acevedo earned the top spot on the one-meter board, finishing with a score of 273.75.
Stony Brook's Story
Vermont- Vermont hosted Bryant on Saturday morning as part of the ?Cats “Senior Day,” topping the bulldogs, 138-112. Ironically, the freshmen were the standouts at the senior celebration, setting a freshmen record-breaking time of 1:52.61 in the 200 medley relay and earning three individual victories in the 200-free (1:58.82) by Avery Pittman, the 100 back (1:01.01) by Kaitlyn Evarts and the 100 breaststroke (1:12.42) by Jillian Catoe. Senior Rachel Kent led the seniors, the most successful graduating class in the program’s history, with a win in the 50 freestyle (25.43).
Vermont's Story