CAMBRIDGE, Mass.— UMBC freshman Lauri Kaei (Harjumaa, Estonia/Tallinn Secondary Science) won two individual events and was part of a winning relay team to lead the Retrievers to a win this weekend against George Washington and earn this week’s Male Swimmer of the Week award. Vermont’s Claudia Etherington (Perth, Australia/St. Hilda’s) turned in some record-breaking performances to nab Female Swimmer of the Week for the second time this season. Boston U.’s Chelsea Glincman (North Brunswick, N.J./North Brunswick Township) notches Female Diver of the Week honors while UMBC’s Andrew Eckhoff (Chelmsford, Mass./Chelmsford) collects that nod on the men’s side for the second straight week and third time overall this year.
In the dual meet against George Washington, Kaei won two individual events and helped both the 200 medley and 400 free relays to wins as well. His times in the 200 free (1:40.97) and the 100 free (47.38) set new season-best marks. His medley relay team also posted a season-best time.
Etherington helped the Catamounts improve to 4-0 with a win over Siena on Saturday by winning two individual events, setting two pool and one school record in the process. Her pool records came in the 100 (57.22) and 200 (2:00.93) backstroke events with her time in the 200 also breaking the Vermont school record. She also led off the 200 medley relay team that claimed victory.
Glincman won the three-meter dive scoring 259.35 points, 13 points better than her Binghamton competitor. She also took second in the one-meter notching a score of 237.45.
Eckhoff continues to impress on the board sweeping both diving events against Towson while smashing the UMBC school record in the three-meter competition with a score of 354.30. The old mark was 318.30 set in 2007. Exhoff qualified for the NCAA Zone Regionals in both events.
Binghamton opened its dual meet season at America East foe Boston U. on Saturday. The Bearcats fell to the Terriers in both the men’s and women’s competition. The women’s day was highlighted by freshman Caitlin Kelly’s (Warwick, N.Y./Warwick Valley) first collegiate victory in the 50 free with a time of 24.39. That is the fifth fastest time in Binghamton history. Tiffany Siu (Hong Kong, China/ S.T.F.A. Leung Kau Kui) turned in a pair of second-place finishes in the 200 free and the 200 fly. Imani Williams (Syracuse, N.Y./Thomas j. Corcoran) finished third in both diving events. Junior Josh Saccurato (Chappaqua, N.Y./Horace Greeley) was Binghamton’s top scorer for the men as he glided to a win in the 200 breaststroke in 2:15.27. He also finished second in the 200 fly. The Binghamton men also won the 400 free relay. Justin Mattison (Horseheads, N.Y./Horseheads) took second on the one-meter board and third in the three-meter dive to lead the Bearcat divers. Next up is UMass in a two-day dual meet on Nov. 4-5.
The Boston University men won 13 events against Binghamton for the 158-68 victory and the women took 12 of 13 events en route to a 138-95 win against the Bearcats. Freshman Andy Vazquez (Miami, Fla./Belen Jesuit Preparatory) lead the way on the men’s side by winning both the 100 and 200 freestyle races. The Terrier women saw the return of senior diver Bailey O’Brien (Putnam, N.Y./Putnam Valley). The 2011 ECAC Award of Valor recipient competed for the first time since beginning cancer treatments for melanoma last fall. She learned the cancer was in full remissions this past summer and trained the last two months to be able to compete again in both diving events. Kendra Cheng (Franklin, Mass./Bishop Feehan) led the Terriers with two individual victories (100 and 200 free) and a win in the 400 free relay, while Megan Happ (Royersford, Pa./Spring-Ford Senior) won both the 500 and 1,000 free. The Terriers will next host Stony Brook and Maine on Nov. 5 at 1:30 p.m.
Maine swept a dual meet with the University of Rhode Island over the weekend with the women getting a 155-145 win and the men posting a 179-98 score. It was the women’s first win over URI since 2007. On the men’s side, it was Brian Landry (Yorktown, Va./Hampton Roads Academy) who picked up a pair of wins to lead the Black Bears. Landry won both breaststroke events, taking the 100 yard variety in 1:00.09 and then the 200 in 2:12.77. The Black Bears also won the 200 yard medley relay. For the Maine women, Shannon Bender (Cumberland, R.I./Lincoln) had a strong day winning the 1,000 free in 10:51.45, placing second in the 200 backstroke and third in the 200 IM. On the boards, Travis Wibby (South Portland, Maine/South Portland) picked up first-place finishes in the three-meter and one-meter dives. Kara Capossela (Greenwich, Conn./Greenwich) swept both events on the women’s side collecting 231.45 points in the one-meter and 241.35 in the three-meter. Maine is next in action when it travels to Boston College on Nov. 4
Over Parents’ Weekend, the UMBC swimming squads swept George Washington, while the diving teams competed against Towson in non-scored competition. The men beat George Washington by a score of 138-112 while the women took home a 137-103 victory. Andrew Eckhoff swept both board events, qualifying for NCAA Zone Regionals in each and breaking the UMBC school record in the three-meter competition scoring a 354.30. Lauri Kaei picked up two individual wins for the men in the 100 and 200 free while also helping the 200 medley and 400 free relay teams to win. Johan Rohtla (Tallinn, Estonia/Tallinn Secondary Science) won the 100 and 200 backstroke events and the 200 IM. For the women, Talor Tadena took home two individual wins in the 100 breaststroke and 100 free. The Retrievers have the week off before heading down to College Park to take on in-state rival Maryland on Nov. 12.
The Stony Brook swimming and diving teams fell in a dual meet against UMass on Saturday, dropping a 184-105 decision on the men’s side and a 181-117 result on the women’s side. Stony Brook compiled three first-place finishes on the day – two for the women and one for the men. Junior Julie Policht (Toronto, Ontario/Michael Power) touched first in the 200 fly in 2:09.97 and senior Stephanie Gross (Fairport, N.Y./Fairport) besting the pack in the 100 free. Senior Sean Conway (Oakdale, N.Y./Connetquot) earned the men’s only first-place finish in the 100 free. In addition to the win in the 100 free, Conway added a second-place finish in the 200 free with a mark of 1:46.68. The Seawolves continued their early season success with four second-place finishes. Freshman Kyle Gannon (North Babylon, N.Y./North Babylon) posted a score of 202.72 on the one-meter board and a mark of 195.60 on the three-meter board. Serra Czapla (Glastonbury, Conn./Glastonbury) and Jodie Darnell (Rocklin, Calif./Whitney) posted runner-up finishes in the one-meter and three-meter board, respectively. Stony Brook returns to action on Nov. 5 for a tri-meet against Maine and Boston U. in Boston.
Vermont won 12 events on its way to a 177-104 victory over Siena in the Catamounts’ home opener on Saturday. UVM improves to 4-0 on the year, matching the best start in school history. Sophomore Claudia Etherington (Perth, Australia/St. Hilda’s), junior Kailey Gardner (Ithaca, N.Y./Ithaca) and seniors Avery Pittman (Raleigh, N.C./Enloe) and Meaghan Cunningham (Keene, N.H./Keene) each won two events to pace the Catamounts. Etherington set a pair of pool records as she swept the 100 (57.22) and 200 (2:00.93) backstroke events. Her time in the 200 also broke the Vermont school record. Gardner won both the 500 and 1,000 free events, while Pittman took first in the 100 and 200 butterfly events. On the boards, Cunningham swept the two dives, taking first in the one-meter with a score of 223.20 and the three-meter with a tally of 228.66. With the win, Vermont has now defeated Siena in each of the last seven seasons. The Catamounts will return to the pool next Saturday when they travel to face Niagara in a dual meet.