The UMBC and University of Maryland men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams met for the first time after a seven-year hiatus.  After the UMBC men (No. 13, CollegeSwimming.com Mid-Major Poll) and women (No. 12) downed Maryland's flagship university, 142-92 and 134-99 respectively, the Terps might not want to put the upstart Retrievers on the schedule for another seven years.

The two teams have not met since Nov. 9, 2000 and the meeting on Thursday was the first time in the history of the rivalry that both the UMBC men and women have come out victorious. It is also just the second time in recent history that the Retriever men (4-1) have defeated the Terps (2-1) after notching a victory in 1997, and the first time the Retriever women (3-3) have bested the Terps (2-3) in recent history.

On the men’s side, the Retrievers won eight of 13 events, with freshman Seth McNew (Lakewood, Colo./Lakewood) claiming the only double-victory of the night. The rookie swept both diving events, posting scores of 236.25 and 209.63 on the 1- and 3-meter boards, respectively.

Junior Justin Bronson (Oshawa, Ontario, Canada/Msgr. Paul Dwyer), sophomore Rasmus Kutt (Tallinn, Estonia/Gustav Adolf Gymnazium), and freshmen Eric Jones (Gambrills, Md./Arundel), Mat Carson (Toronto, Ontario, Canada/Silverthorn Collegiate Institute), and Brad Reitz (Ellicott City, Md./Howard) turned in one individual victory apiece for the Retrievers, while Kutt and Reitz also teamed with senior Scott Auchter (Wernersville, Pa./Wilson) and junior Sven Schneider (Tallinn, Estonia/Tallinn German Gymnazium/LSU) to win the 400 medley relay.

Bronson, Jones, and Carson took the 200, 500, and 1000 freestyles in times of 1:41.35, 4:45.23, and 9:43.05, respectively, while Kutt was tops in the 200 backstroke in 1:53.75 and Reitz in the 200 butterfly in 1:55.52.

Bronson and Kutt also led 1-2-3 sweeps of their respective events, while the 400 medley relay of Kutt, Auchter, Reitz, and Schneider turned in a time of 3:27.73 to start off the meet.

On the women’s side, the Retrievers took nine of 13 events, with junior Daniele Surkovich (Ellicott City, Md./Wilde Lake), and freshmen Rebecca Godwin (Catonsville, Md./Notre Dame Prep) and Crystal Gall (Balgonie, Saskatchewan, Canada/Dr. Martin LeBoldus) each notching double-victories on the night.

Surkovich took both the 100 and 200 freestyles with times of 53.04 and 1:52.73, while Godwin won both distance events, with a time of 5:04.53 in the 500 and 10:21.81 in the 1000. Gall swept the diving events with scores of 227.33 and 255.98 on the 1- and 3-meter boards.

Junior Tina Cantwell (Sinking Spring, Pa./The Hill School) extended her unbeaten streak in the 200 breaststroke to eight meets this season and 16 meets overall as she turned in a time of 2:19.99 for the win. Cantwell has not lost the event since placing second against Navy on Oct. 28, 2006.

Sophomore Lindsay Sherman (Bethany, Conn./Amity) added the only other individual victory for the Retrievers as she turned in a time of 2:08.09 in the 200 fly and also teamed with Cantwell, sophomore Tereza Kaplanova (Prague, Czech Republic/J.G. Jarkovskeho) and senior Lindsey Engler (Salisbury, Md./James M. Bennett) to win the 400 medley relay in 3:56.78.

The Retrievers will return to competition on Saturday, Jan. 19 as they host East Carolina in their final home meet of the season and honor their seniors and welcome their alumni at 1:00 p.m. at the UMBC Natatorium.