CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – A pair of Stony Brook University swimmers and two University of Maine earned America East weekly honors for their performances over the weekend. Stony Brook senior Lukasz Ochmanski (Lodz, Poland/Kosciuszko Memorial) grabbed the Male Swimmer of the Week honor while fellow Seawolf Taylor Crosby (Port Monmouth, N.J./Middletown) took the Female Swimmer of the Week award. University of Maine divers sophomore Tim Smith (Bangor, Maine/Bangor) and freshman Kara Capossela (Greenwich, Conn./Greenwich) earned Male and Female Diver of the Week accolades, respectively.
Ochmanski was Stony Brook’s highest-scoring competitor at the ECAC Open in East Meadow, N.Y., as he recorded a total of 81 points (16th-most at the competition) and helped the Seawolves to a fourth-place finish. The senior finished first in the 100 backstroke with a season-best time of 45.66, before taking first yet again in the 200 freestyle, posting a time of 1:40.51 and breaking the ECAC Open record time by almost three seconds. Ochmanski rounded out Saturday by helping the 800 free relay team take third in 1:49.80. Ochmanski completed the weekend with yet another first-place finish on Sunday as he helped the 400 free relay quartet to a victory in 3:05.84, another ECAC Open record.
Crosby garnered 113 total points at the ECAC Open in East Meadow, N.Y., finishing as the second-highest scoring athlete in the women’s competition as the Seawolves took first place out of 13 teams. The junior took first place in the 200 IM on Sunday with an ECAC Open record time of 2:10.10. The mark is also the fastest for any Stony Brook women’s swimmer this season. Crosby also placed second in the 200 breaststroke (2:25.36) and third in the 100 breaststroke (1:07.89) before placing fourth in the 400 IM in 4:39.71, a season best for Stony Brook.
Smith won the three-meter dive at the URI Invitational with 223.55 points. The sophomore also finished second in the one-meter dive, posting a score of 246.40 as he earned his second Diver of the Week nod of the season.
Capossela won both the one-meter and three-meter diving events at the URI Invitational. The freshman scored 232.50 points in the one-meter dive and 238.40 in the three-meter dive. Capossela has now won her last eight diving events.
The Binghamton University swimming and diving program competed against Cornell University over the weekend. Both the men’s and women’s squads came up short against the Big Red, with the men falling, 154-146, and the women dropping a 189-111 decision. The men were led by the senior duo of Jason Chen (Livingston, N.Y./Livingston) and Phil Dzieniszewski (Queens, N.Y./Benjamin Cardozo). Chen won the 50 free (21.67), 100 free (47.67) and 100 IM (52.99). Dzieniszewski touched first in the 50 breast (56.44) and 50 fly (23.46). Junior Joe Perez-Rogers (Woodstock, N.Y./Woodstock) placed first in both backstroke events, finishing with a time of 24.13 in the 50 back and 51.49 in the 100 back. Sophomore David Gleason (New York, N.Y./Robert Louis Stevenson) won a pair of distance events, taking the 200 (1:42.74) and 500 free (4:42.85). The Bearcat women received another standout performance from senior captain Amanda Ciccone (Suffern, N.Y./Suffern). Ciccone won the 100 fly (56.44), 100 free (52.42) and 100 IM (59.78), and also swam the anchor leg on the first-place 400 medley relay team. With her efforts Saturday, Ciccone has won multiple events in every Binghamton dual meet this season. Sophomore Tiffany Siu (Hong Kong, China/S.T.F.A. Leung Kau Kui) was the only other winner on the day for the Bearcats, touching first in the 500 free with a time of 5:04.54. The foursome of Ciccone, Siu, Olivia Baczek (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./F.D.Roosevelt) and Danielle Gallo (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Yorktown ) won the 400 medley relay in a time of 3:56.36. The Bearcats are off until January 14 when they host Niagara.
Boston University swimming and diving split its men’s and women’s schedule this week. The men stayed in Boston for a dual meet against Harvard, falling to the Crimson, 156-106, while the women’s dive team competed at the Texas Invitational. The men were led by senior Kyle Ernst, who won two events. Ernst finished first in the 50-yard breaststroke with a time of 26.95 and in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:05.99. Senior Matt Rickett also picked up a pair of top finishes, pacing the field in the 50 fly, touching in a time of 22.68, and swimming a leg in the Terriers’ first-place 200 free relay. For the women, sophomore Melinda Matyas finished seventh in the platform dive at the Texas Invitational, posting a score of 241.80. Boston U. will return to the pool January 9 when it competes in Hawaii.
University of Maine swimming and diving competed at the URI Invitational in Kingston, R.I., over the weekend. The men’s team took home a fourth-place finish out of six teams with 622 points while the women placed third overall out of six teams with 574 points. The men were led by sophomore swimmer Yuri Chornobil (Rochester, N.Y./Brighton) and freshman diver Tim Smith (Bangor, Maine/Bangor). Chornobil won the 500 free with a time of 4:51.05 and also paced the field in the 1,000 free with a time of 10:02.41. Smith won the three-meter dive with 223.55 points and finished second in the one-meter with a score of 246.40. The Black Bear women were led by freshman diver Kara Capossela (Greenwich, Conn./Greenwich), who won both the one-meter and three-meter diving events with scores of 232.50 and 238.40, respectively. Maine will travel to Lewiston, Maine for a dual meet with in-state rival Bates College on Saturday, December 11.
UMBC swimming and diving did not compete last weekend. The Retrievers are off until January 8 when they head to Philadelphia, Pa., for a tri-meet against Drexel and Howard.
University of New Hampshire swimming and diving faced America East rival Vermont last Sunday. The Wildcats topped the Catamounts, 175-123. New Hampshire received from a strong performance from Amy Perrault (Kirkland Lake, Ontario/Ecole Catholique), who took first place in the 100- and 200-yard backstroke, posting times of 58.26 and 2:07.23, respectively. The senior also broke the Vermont pool record in the 200 individual medley, winning the event in a time of 2:08.36. The Wildcats swept the podium in the 100 breaststroke with senior Allison Nahin (Hartland, Wisc./Arrowhead High School), freshman Lizzy Magnavita (South Glastonbury, Conn./Glastonbury) and junior Casey Albert (Enfield, N.H./Lebanon High School) posting times of 1:05.92, 1:08.32 and 1:08.53, respectively. New Hampshire does not compete again until January 17 when it heads to Boston to face America East foe Boston University.
Stony Brook University swimming and diving competed in the ECAC meet in East Meadow, N.Y. The women’s team won the meet, finishing first out of 13 teams, while the men took home a fourth-place finish out of 15 teams. The women were led by swimmer Taylor Crosby (Port Monmouth, N.J./Middletown) and diver Serra Czapla (Glastonbury, Conn./Glastonbury). Crosby, a junior, placed second in the 200 breaststroke (2:25.36) and third in the 100 breaststroke (1:07.89) on Saturday, before placing fourth in the 400 IM in 4:39.71, a Stony Brook season record. Crosby then capped off the weekend by taking first in the 200 IM on Sunday with an ECAC Open record time of 2:10.10. The mark is also the fastest for any Stony Brook women’s swimmer this season. Czapla recorded a program-best dive of 329.50 to take fourth place in the event. Freshman Renee Deschenes (Winnipeg, Manitoba/College Louis-Riel) set a new ECAC Open and Stony Brook program record in the 200 backstroke with a time of 2:04.04. Senior Anastasiya Kiryushkina (Moscow, Russia/Korolev Secondary) also broke an ECAC and a program best in the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:23.23. The 200 free relay team of Deschenes, junior Darcy Heuser (Centerville, Ohio/Centerville), junior Kelsey Stranc (Chicago, Ill./ Loyola Academy) and freshman Allison Zelnick (Troy, Ohio/Troy) also set a new season best with a time of 1:38.10. The men were led by senior Lukasz Ochmanski (Lodz, Poland/Kosciuszko Memorial). Ochmanski finished first in the 100 backstroke with a season-best time of 45.66, before taking first yet again in the 200 freestyle, posting a time of 1:40.51 and breaking the ECAC Open record time by almost three seconds. Ochmanski completed the weekend with yet another first-place finish on Sunday as he helped the 400 free relay to a victory in 3:05.84, another ECAC Open record. Stony Brook is off until January 19 when it hosts Lafayette at 3 p.m.
University of Vermont lost a pair of meets over the weekend at home to Yale and America East rival New Hampshire. Yale held a slim 114-112 lead heading into the 200 freestyle relay and just touched out the Catamounts by .05 seconds to win the event and the meet. Kailey Gardner (Ithaca, N.Y./Ithaca) won the 500 (5:07.44) and 1,000 (10:25.02) freestyle events while also taking first in the 400 IM (4:34.15). Senior Kate Weaver (South Burlington, Vt./South Burlington) won the 200 back in a time of 2:06.22 and junior Caitlin Dowd (Setauket, N.Y./Ward Melville) added a win in the 200 breaststroke (2:26.62) for the Catamounts. Against the Wildcats on Sunday, Gardner stayed unbeaten in the 1,000 free, winning the event in a time of 10:19.36. She also went on to win the 500 freestyle in 5:04.50. Junior Avery Pittman (Raleigh, N.C./Enloe) was the only other Catamount to earn a victory on the afternoon as she won the 100 butterfly in 58.84. The Catamounts are now off until January 9 when they host Central Connecticut State starting at 2 p.m.
With only one America East team, Maine, competing before the new year, the conference office will resume weekly releases in January.