CAMBRIDGE, Mass – Swimmers and divers from four different schools earned weekly honors this week for their performance in the pool. UMBC junior Pierre De Waal (Pretoria South Africa/Tuks/Cleveland State) is the male swimmer of the week and Stony Brook freshman Kyle Gannon (North Babylon, N.Y./North Babylon) takes home the diver of the week nod for the men. Boston University sophomore Kendra Cheng (Franklin, Mass./Bishop Feehan) collects female swimmer of the week while New Hampshire junior Ellen Pelletier (West Hartford, Conn./Conard) scores diver of the week recognition.
De Waal claimed three victories in the Retrievers’ win against Rider over the weekend. Individually, he won the 200 fly and the 500 free before capping his solid day off by anchoring the 400 free relay team to a win.
Gannon placed first overall for the Seawolves in the one-meter dive against St. Francis (N.Y.) with a score of 180.30. Stony Brook would go on to sweep the diving events.
Cheng had an impressive weekend, competing in eight total events over two days of competition and winning five of them. Friday against Houston, Cheng won the 50 backstroke (26.73) and helped the Terriers capture the 400 medley relay. On Saturday against UMass, she won both the 100 (52.49) and 200 (1:52.89 free and anchored the Boston U. team to victory in the 400 free relay.
Pelletier smashed a pool record at Siena in the one-meter dive notching a score of 260.60 in the event to help the Wildcats take care of Siena. Pelletier won this same event at last season’s America East Championship.
Binghamton’s swimming and diving teams did not compete this week and will return to the pool on Oct. 22 at the Husky Invitational in Connecticut.
Boston University opened its season this weekend with the women splitting its two dual meets and the men earning a tie in their only meet. The women lost to Houston on Friday 164.5-135.5 but followed that up with a convincing 177-122 victory over UMass. Sophomore Kendra Cheng led the Terriers coming away with five victories. Against Houston, she won the 50-yard backstroke and helped the Terriers win the 400 medley relay. The next day, she won the 100 and 200 free while also placing second in the 100 fly and the 400 free relay. Senior Kristen Connors (Mansfield, Mass./Bishop Feehan) also had an impressive weekend by winning both the 100 and 200 breaststroke against UH. The Terrier men faced a nine-point deficit with only the 400-yard freestyle relay remaining and took first and third place to pull out a 149-149 draw against UMass on Saturday. Sophomore Andrew Guinther (Queensbury, N.Y./Queensbury) captured both the 100 and 200 breaststroke, while senior Daniel Kempf (Austin, Texas/Lyndon Banies Johnson) won the 50 free and placed second in the 100 fly. In total, the Terriers won eight of the sixteen events. Boston U. will next host Binghamton on Oct. 29.
Maine begins its season on Oct. 22 at the Husky Invitational in Connecticut.
In its first scored meet of the season, UMBC swept Rider with the men winning 160-131 and the women claiming a 161-111 win. Senior Abbey McKenney (Wilmington, Del./Brandywine) led all swimmers with four wins on the day, while also breaking two pool records. Her win in the 50 free (24.37) set a new pool record and a new personal best. McKenney, Ashley Sippel (Rockville, Md./Thomas Wootton), Erika Ronning (Western Springs, Ill./Lyons Township) and Ashley Miller (New Smyrna Beach, Fla./New Smyrna Beach) also smashed a pool record in the 400 freestyle relay. On the men’s side, UMBC had three swimmers win two or more events. Senior John Mendenhall (Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill East) won the 100 and 200 breaststroke, junior Pierre De Waal claimed the 200 fly and the 500 free and freshman Lauri Kaei (Harjumaa, Estonia/Talinn Secondary Science) was victorious in the 100 and 200 free. Kaei and De Waal also helped the 400 freestyle relay team claim victory. The Retrievers return to the pool on Oct. 21 to take on Navy in a dual meet.
The University of New Hampshire women’s swimming and diving team opened its season this weekend by breaking five pool records en route to a 126-93 win over Siena. The Wildcats won every event on the day. Jessica Little (Barrie, Ontario) led UNH with pool records in both the 200 individual medley (2:09.27) and the 200 breaststroke (2:20.88). Lauren McCandless (Macungie, Pa.) finished the 200 fly in 2:06.59, claiming a pool record of her own. The Wildcats also had record-breaking performances from Katie Mann (Prince George, B.C.) in the 200 backstroke (2:06.10) and from Ellen Pelletier, who scored 260.60 points in the one-meter dive.
Stony Brook swept St. Francis (N.Y.) on Saturday by scores of 132-78 on the men’s side and 139-72 on the women’s side. Freshmen Matthew Essig (Arlington, Va./Yorktown) and Larry Barbosa (Corona, N.Y./Holy Cross) were victorious in two individual events each. Essig touched first in the 1000 free (10:22.87) and 500 free (5:00.82), while Barbosa topped the competition in the 200 IM (2:02.26) and the 100 backstroke (56.93). Kyle Gannon placed first overall in the one-meter dive. For the women, Jodie Darnell (Rocklin, Calif./Whitney) took first on the one-meter board with a score of 183.00. Junior Andjelija Sreckovic (Jagodina, Serbia/St. Joseph) took home a pair of victories in the 50 free (25.92) and the 100 free (55.26). She also helped the 200 frestyle relay team post the top time in the event (1:43.39).
Vermont had the week off and returns to the pool on Oct. 22 at the Husky Invitational in Connecticut.