CAMBRIDGE, Mass.— Week three of swimming and diving is in the books and four more athletes take home weekly honors after their weekend performances in the pool. A pair of UMBC Retrievers is joined by a diver from Stony Brook and a swimmer from Maine. UMBC’s Abbey McKenney (Wilmington, Del./Brandywine) grabs female swimmer of the week and Stony Brook’s Jodie Darnell (Rocklin, Calif) picks up her second diver of the week nod. For the men, Maine’s Yuri Chornobil (Rochester, N.Y./Brighton) is swimmer of the week and UMBC’s Andrew Eckhoff (Chelmsford, Mass./Chelmsford) also collects his second diver of the week honor of the season.
McKenney picked up a total of four victories, two individual and two relays, during UMBC’s narrow loss to Navy on Friday. She set season-best marks in both of her individual events, the 50 free (24.36) and 100 free (59.44). McKenney, the Most Outstanding Female Swimmer at the America East Championships last year, also anchored the 200 medley relay (1:47.11) and 400 free relay (3:32.20) to new season-best times as well.
Darnell placed first on the three-meter board at the Central Connecticut State University Diving Invitational on Saturday. She posted a season-high score of 213.75 to top the field of 11 competitors from Fairfield, CCSU and Wagner. The junior also placed fourth in the one-meter dive with a mark of 190.45.
Chornobil was tops in the distance races for Maine as he won the 500 free, touching the wall at 4:56.95 and was second in the 1000 free with a time of 10:16.64 in Maine’s win over Bryant. The junior also placed seventh in the 500 free and ninth in the 200 free at the Husky Invitational this weekend.
Eckhoff posted an impressive score of 295.73 in the one-meter dive event in UMBC’s home meet against Navy. His score edged out the next closest competitor by 13 points to take the top spot.
Binghamton was idle this week and returns to the pool on Oct. 29 at Boston U.
Boston U. hosts Binghamton next weekend after not competing this week.
Maine sent its men’s and women’s teams to different destinations this weekend after both teams competed in the non-scoring Husky Invitational on Saturday. The men defeated Bryant on Sunday, 135-127, while the women raced at the non-scoring long-course New England Collegiate Challenge. Yuri Chornobil paced the Black Bear men on Saturday placing seventh in the 500 free in 4:57.05 and finishing ninth in the 200 free with a time of 1:50.62. On Sunday in the win against Bryant, Brian Landry (Biddeford, Maine) touched the wall first in the 200 breaststroke in 2:11.53 and was second in both the 100 breaststroke and 200 IM. Chornobil controlled the distance races for Maine winning the 500 free in 4:56.95 and placing second in the 1000 free in 10:24.53. Rookie Ryan Fahey (Quincy, Mass.) picked up a win, a second and third place finish on the day. His win came in the 200 backstroke with a time of 2:02.72. For the women, Naja Harvey (Orono, Minn.) turned in a pair of top performances at the Husky Invitational. She placed second in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:07.96 and was third in the 50 free at 24.99. Shannon Bender also had a solid day in Connecticut turning in a sixth-place finish in the 400 IM (4:47.46) and seventh in both the 200 IM and 500 free. On Sunday, sophomore Erica Smrcina (North Falmouth, Mass.) captured the top finish for the Black Bears as the sophomore placed second in the 100-meter fly with a time of 1:07.20. Classmate Lauren Dwyer (Orono, Maine/Orono) also had a strong showing earning a fifth-place finish in the 100-meter backstroke (1:10.34) and turning in a seventh-place finish in the 50-meter free (28.93). The Black Bears continue their season this weekend with a home meet against Rhode Island.
On Friday, Navy swept UMBC in the Retrievers’ only meet of the week. The men fell 157-132 while the women were competitive until the last relay and lost 150-144. Abbey McKenney picked up two more individual victories, the 50 (24.36) and 100 (52.39) freestyle events, in addition to anchoring both the 200 medley and 400 free relays to wins against the Mids. Sophomore Talor Tadena (Orangevale, Calif./Bella Vista) was the only other multiple event winner for the women, picking up a win in the 100 breaststroke (1:06.07) to go along with the 200 medley relay victory. For the men, junior Andrew Eckhoff continued his strong start on the boards, winning the one-meter event while setting a season-high score of 295.73. Pierre DeWaal (Pretoria, South Africa/Tuks Sport/Cleveland State) lowered his times in the 1000 free (10:38.94) and the 500 free (4:44.14) while Lauri Kaei (Harjurmaa, Estonia/Tallinn Secondary Science) set season-best marks in the 200 free (1:41.53) and the 100 free (47.81)The Retrievers return to the pool this weekend to host George Washington as a part of Parents Weekend on campus.
New Hampshire competed at the New England Collegiate Challenge on the campus of Harvard University this weekend. Katie Mann (Prince George, B.C./Duchess Park Secondary School) paved the way for UNH, taking first place in the 200-meter breaststroke (2:44.11), while also notching third-place finishes in the 100-meter breaststroke (1:17.90) and 200-meter IM (2:27.43). Jessica Little (Barrie, Ontario/Barrie Central Collegiate Institute) had a solid showing in the 200-meter breast, claiming second place, timing in at 2:46.24. She also placed fourth in the 100-meter breast. The ‘Cats opened the day with a second-place finish in the 400-meter medley relay as Oneida Cooper (Johannesburg, South Africa/St. Andrews School for Girls), Lauren McCandless (Macungie Pa./Emmaus), Shelli Reed (Hollister, Calif./San Benito) and Little clocked in at 4:32.96. UNH also finished second in the 400 free relay. The Wildcats return to action on Nov. 5 for their home opener on ‘Family Weekend’ when they take on Bryant and Central Connecticut State in a dual meet.
Stony Brook sent its diving teams to the Central Connecticut State Diving Invitational on Saturday. Junior Jodie Darnell placed first in the three-meter dive with a score of 213.75, a season-high. Molly Swartz (Grass Valley, Calif.) took third in the event (204.10) while sophomore Serra Czapla (Glastonbury, Conn.) placed fifth, registering a score of 172.35. In the men’s three-meter dive, freshman Kaleim Reid (Uniondale, N.Y./Uniondale) finished second with a personal-best mark of 187.65. Classmate Kyle Gannon (North Babylon, N.Y) placed fifth. Gannon, however, did post a season-high score of 200.45 in the one-meter dive to place second. The Seawolves return to action on Oct. 29 at UMass.
Vermont competed in two non-scoring meets over the weekend. The Catamounts took part in the Husky Invitational hosted by Connecticut on Saturday, as freshman Katie Adams (Houston, Texas/Cyprus Greek) earned Vermont’s lone win on the day, taking first place in the 200 free in a time of 1:56.96). Junior Kailey Gardner (Ithaca, N.Y./Ithaca) earned a pair of second-place finishes in the 500 free (5:08.54) and 400 IM (4:36.69). On Sunday, Vermont took part in the New England Collegiate Challenge, a long-course meet hosted by Harvard. Claudia Etherington (Parth, Australia/St. Hilda’s) paced the Catamounts with a pair of victories, sweeping the two backstroke events. She won the 200 back in a personal-best time of 2:18.96 and then took first in the 100 backstroke with a time of 1:07.30. Vermont took four of the top eight spots in the 800 freestyle, led by Gardner who was second (9:25.29). The Catamounts return to action on Oct. 29 when they host Siena for the first home meet of the season.