Fairfield Sweeps Saint Peters

The Fairfield University men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams swept Saint Peter’s College in a recording-setting evening at the RecPlex. The women’s team earned the 164-97 win while the men picked up a 152-141 victory. In all, five programs records were either broken or tied.

Freshman Michelle Yoshida (Kaneohe, Hawaii) broke the women’s 50m freestyle record with a winning time of 27:06. The previous standard of 27.35 was set by Jen Masi in 2006. Yoshida was also a member of the winning 200m medley relay.

On the men’s side, three records fell while one was tied. After helping the Stags to a victory in the 200m medley relay which was two-hundredths of a second off a record, freshman Kekoa Taparra (Mililani, Hawaii) hopped back in the water to capture the 800m free in a time of 8:50.35. Later in the 100m breaststroke, Taparra clocked a time of 1:05.70 to not only finish in second place but to shatter the program record. The previous mark of 1:10.37 was set by Drew Kingman in 2007. Taparra also finished second in the 200 IM with a time of 2:14.07, less than a second off of the record.

Sophomore Jonathan O'Connor (Norwalk, Conn.) broke a 10-year-old record in the 200m fly with a winning time of 2:19.09. The previous mark of 2:19.33 was set by Chris Warenkiewicz in 2007. Freshman Greg Bellizzi (Edison, N.J.) tied the program record in the 50m free with a time of 24.81 seconds, tying a mark set by Chris O’Connell in 1984.

On the boards, Taylor Stecko (South Windsor, Conn.) was not only a double-winner, but broke the Stags fifth record of the night. Stecko took the 1-meter with a score of 265.95 to break the mark of 262.25 set by Peter Loverme in 2003. In the 3-meter, Stecko posted a mark of 255.75 for the win.

Sophomore Katie Merz (Absecon, N.J.) was a double-winner for the women, notching victories in the 200m free with a time of 2:15.40 and the 400m free with a time of 4:45.06.

Freshman Megan Reilly (Atlantic Highlands, N.J.) captured the 800m free with a time of 10:03.63.  Freshman Norah Gentile (Manchester, Conn.) won the 100m back in a time of 1:11.20 while classmate Aly Criscuolo (Pittsford, N.Y.) won the 200m fly in a time of 2:36.17. Freshman Marissa Toselli (Barrington, R.I.) was also victorious in the 100m free.

Senior Meghan Carlson (Worcester, Mass.) registered the win in the 200m back with a time of 2:31.35. Freshman Lauren Kennedy (Belmont, Mass.) recorded a winning time of 2:48.97 in the 200m breaststroke. Junior Hillary Urbancic (Concord, Mass.) was the lone female diver on the night. She recorded a score of 161.25 on the 3-meter.

For the men, freshman Tommy Peters (Basking Ridge, N.J.) captured the 400m free with a time of 4:31.55. Sophomore Brett Carisio (Cheshire, Conn.) was the runner-up to Stecko in both diving events. Carisio posted a score of 206.55 in the 1-meter and a mark of 215.39 in the 3-meter.

Fairfield is back in action on Sunday, October 19 as it heads to the William McCarthy Invitational at the New York Athletic Club (NYAC).