Swimming & Diving Week One Report
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.—In the first week of the 2010-11 swimming & diving season, one University of Vermont swimmer and three UMBC student-athletes take home America East Weekly honors. Vermont sophomore Kailey Gardner (Ithaca, N.Y./Ithaca) earned Female Swimmer of the Week while UMBC senior Amanda Shinholser (Burtonsville, Md./Springbrook) received the Female Diver of the Week honor. A pair of Retrievers, senior Eric Jones (Gambrills, Md./Arundel) and sophomore Andrew Echoff (Chelmsford, Mass./Chelmsford), earned Male Swimmer of the Week and Diver of the Week, respectively.
Gardner was victorious in the 500 (5:07.74) and 1,000 (10:29.47) freestyle events, while also earning the top spot in the 200 IM (2:10.92) at a quad meet at Army. Gardner’s top finishes pushed the Catamounts to three team victories at the meet, topping Army and Boston College by matching 174-126 scores and also defeating America East rival Stony Brook, 159.5-140.5.
Shinholser posted a score of 234.67 in the three-meter dive, propelling her to a win in the event in a non-scoring meet against Bucknell on Friday. The senior also finished fourth in the one-meter dive with a score of 178.05.
Jones won all three of his individual events in the Retrievers’ non-scoring meet against Bucknell on Friday. The senior won the 200- (1:41.91), 100- (47.95) and 50-yard (21.55) freestyle swims. Jones also anchored the 400-yard freestyle relay that finished first in 3:13.22. At the 2010 America East Championship meet, Jones won the 200-yard freestyle and was a member of the first-place 800-yard freestyle relay team.
Eckhoff swept the diving events against Bucknell on Friday, winning the three-meter with a score of 270.37 and the one-meter with a score of 238.95. Eckhoff finished second in the one-meter dive and fourth in the three-meter dive at the 2010 America East Championship meet.
Binghamton University men’s and women’s swimming & diving opened their schedules this past Saturday at the Western New York Invitational, a non-scoring event. For the men, senior Jason Chen (Livingston, N.J./Livingston ) and junior Nolan Slesnick (Austin, Texas/LBJ-LASA) both brought home victories for the Bearcats. Chen swam to a first-place finish in the 100 fly with a time of 51.58 while Slesnick touched first in the 400 IM with a time of 4:13.52. Chen also placed fourth in the 100 free (48.13) and sixth in the 100 breast (1:01.87). Slesnick swam to a third-place finish in the 500 free (4:47.13) while touching seventh in the 200 back (2:02.15). The men received quality performances from junior Joe Perez-Rogers (Woodstock, N.Y./Woodstock) and Josh Saccurato (Chappaqua, N.Y./Horace Greeley) as well. Both placed in the top ten in four events. Perez-Rogers’ best finish of the day was a second place swim in the 100 back with a time of 52.57. He also finished fourth in the 50 free (21.66) and fifth in both the 200 free (1:47.69) and 400 IM (4:27.66). Saccurato grabbed a third place finish in the 200 back (1:59.48), took sixth in the 200 IM (2:00.70), ninth in the 100 back (56.34) and tenth in the 100 fly (53.82). The women were led by sophomore Tiffany Siu (Hong Kong, China/S.T.F.A. Leung Kau Kui), who won the 200 fly (2:04.11) and broke her own school record by more than three seconds en route to a victory in the 400 IM with a time of 4:26.06. Sophomore transfer Karissa Gorman (Southampton, Mass./Hampshire Regional) had a pair of top ten finishes, touching third in the 200 back (2:30.70) and sixth in the 400 IM (4:45.61). Junior Maria Mazzoni had a similar day, placing third in the 200 free (1:58.96) and seventh in the 50 free (25.63). The 200 medley relay team of Siu, Brittany Detlef (Rochester, N.Y./Rush-Henrietta), Danielle Gallo (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Yorktown) and Caitlin Nelson (Florham Park, N.J./Hanover Park) glided to a third place finish with a time of 1:51.79. Binghamton does not return to the water until next month when they host Massachusetts on Friday, November 5 and Saturday, November 6.
Boston University swimming & diving did not start its season last week. The Terriers will open their men’s and women’s schedules on October 16 when they host Massachusetts.
The University of Maine also is waiting to open its schedule. The Black Bear women will start their 2010-11 schedule on Saturday, October 16 for a meet against Central Connecticut State and Sacred Heart in New Britain, Conn. The men do not open their season until October 23 when they face Boston U. and Bryant in Boston, Mass.
The UMBC men’s and women’s swimming & diving teams opened the 2010-11 season with non-scored meets against Bucknell Friday night. Both the men and the women won 15 of 22 events. Senior Eric Jones won all three of his individual events, taking the 50, 100 and 200-yard freestyles. Sophomore Steve Gallagher (Sinking Spring, Pa/Wilson) won the 50 and 100-yard breaststroke events, while two newcomers, sophomore transfer Pierre De Waal (Pretoria, South Africa/Tuks Sport/Cleveland State) and freshman Johan Rohtla (Tallinn, Estonia/Tallinn Secondary Science) won the 100 and 200 butterfly and 100 and 200 backstroke, respectively. Sophomore Andrew Eckhoff swept the one-meter and three-meter diving events. For the Retriever women, sophomore Jennifer Kotonias (Burtonsville, Md./Academy of Holy Cross) won all three of her individual events, claiming the 100, 200 and 400-yard individual medley. Her 400 IM time of 4:27.40 was a career-best time and the third-fastest in UMBC history. Senior Sarah Ryan (Rockville Centre, N.Y./Oceanside) swept all three butterfly events, while freshman Talor Tadena (Orangevale, Calif./Bella Vista) won the 50 and 100-yard breaststrokes. Senior Amanda Shinholser won the three-meter diving event. The Retrievers return to action Saturday when they host Rider at 2 p.m.
The University of New Hampshire swimming & diving team did not compete last week. The Wildcats will take to the pool on October 16 against Siena and October 17 against Wagner. Both meets will be in Durham, N.H.
Stony Brook University’s men’s and women’s swimming & diving teams opened the 2010-11 season in quad meets at Army. The men dropped their meets, 199-79 against Army, 208-72 against Seattle and 222-72 against Boston College. The Stony Brook women also had a rough week, dropping meets against Vermont (159.5-140.5), Army (151-149) and Boston College (166-134). For the men, junior Sean Conway (Oakdale, N.Y./Connetquot) led the way, finishing second in the 100- and fifth in the 100-yard freestyle. For the women, freshman Renee Deschenes (Winnipeg, Manitoba/College Louis-Riel) won the 100-yard backstroke, posting a time of 57.36, a full 1.6 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher. She also won the 200-yard backstroke by more than three seconds with her time of 2:04.50. Fellow freshman Veronica Reid (Duncan, British Columbia/Cowichan Secondary) grabbed first place in the 200-yard breaststroke.
The University of Vermont opened the 2010-11 season on Friday night, sweeping a four-team meet at Army. In their opening meet of the season, the Catamounts topped Boston College (174-126), host Army (174-126) and America East rival Stony Brook (159.5-140.5). Sophomore Kailey Gardner led Vermont with three wins on the night. Gardner was victorious in the 500 (5:07.74) and 1,000 (10:29.47) freestyle events, while also earning the top spot in the 200 IM (2:10.92). Senior Kate Weaver (South Burlington, Vt./South Burlington) won the 200 freestyle in a time of 1:54.70, junior Avery Pittman (Raleigh, N.C./Enloe) took first in the 200 butterfly in 2:09.29 and sophomore Melissa Wheeler (Roanoake, Va./William Byrd) won the three meter dive (208.25). The Catamounts were also victorious in the 200 medley relay, as the team made up of Emily Alexander (Stittsville, Ontario/Sacred Heart), Emily Metta (Norwood, Mass./Norwood), Pittman and Hannah Center (Chevy Chase, Md./Bethesda Chevy Chase) finished in a time of 1:50.24, just .04 seconds ahead of Army. The Catamounts have now swept their opening meet of the season in each of the last two years. UVM has defeated Stony Brook in each of the last five years, Army in three straight seasons and Boston College in each of the last two. A young team, the Catamounts have only four seniors on their roster this season. The Catamounts return to action on Saturday, October 16 when they travel to Boston, Mass., to face Northeastern starting at 12 p.m.