BU Women Take Over Lead, UMBC Men Hold On At America East Championships

At the end of the second day of competition at the 2009 America East Swimming & Diving Championship host Boston University gained the lead in the women’s field while UMBC remained atop of the men’s squads.

Trailing the Terriers (284) is the University of Vermont (222), UMBC (214), University of New Hampshire (200), Binghamton University (144), Stony Brook University (111) and the University of Maine (65).

UMBC’s 295 points narrowly edged out Boston University with 293 points, followed by Binghamton (261), Stony Brook (126) and Maine (66).

Friday evening saw champions crowned in the men and women’s 200-yard medley relay, 500-yard freestyle, 200-yard individual medley, 50-yard freestyle and women’s 3M diving event.

Vermont’s Colleen Clark (Unionville, CT/Farmington) broke the conference record in her preliminary heat of the 500-yard free, and again during the finals where she was crowned champion with a time of 4:49.04.  For the men, UMBC’s Justin Bronson (Oshawa, Ontario, Canada/Msgr. Paul Dwyer) won the event for the second time in his four-year career, clocking in at a time of 4:24.91.

Boston’s Eve Kinsella (Freehold, N.J./The Peddie School) defended her title in the 200 IM, breaking last year’s time by over two seconds and posting a time of 2:02.22.  Brad Reitz (Gambrills, Md./Arundel) won the event for the UMBC men, clocking in at 1:48.67, almost two seconds ahead of his closest competitor.

In the women’s 50-yard freestyle, Jessie Ellisalcaide (Harpswell, Maine/University of Maine) of the University of New Hampshire earned first with a time of 23.25 while Boston University’s Matthew Rickett (Portland, Maine/Deering), Jackson Hill (Naperville, Ill./Naperville North), Daniel Kempf (Austin, Texas/Lyndon Banies Johnson) and Sam Weinstein Scottsdale, Ariz./Desert Mountain)finished first, second, third and fifth, respectively.

Boston University swept the men and women’s 200-yard freestyle relays with Kempf, Weinstein, Rickett and Hill touching in 1:20.14 and Emily Munday Butte, Most./Butte), Kirsten Tullis (Glenn Mills, Pa./Archmere Academy), Maria McIntyre Herndon, Va./Chantilly) and Kinsella finishing in a time of 1:33.94.

Terrier Tess Waresmith (Dover, Mass/Miami), last year’s most outstanding diver for the women, defended her title on the 3M board scoring a total of 575.60 points, more than 20 points ahead of her closest competitor.

Tomorrow’s preliminary events will begin at 10 a.m. followed by finals in the men’s and women’s 400IM, 100 butterfly, 200 freestyle, 100 breaststroke, 100 backstroke, 400 medley relay and the men’s 3M diving event.

Clark Wins 500 Freestyle, Swimming and Diving in Second at America East Championship
The University of Vermont swimming and diving team is in second place after day two of the America East Championships being held at Boston University. Junior Colleen Clark (Unionville, Conn.) won the 500 freestyle to become only the second student-athlete in program history to earn two conference championships.

Boston University took over the lead on day two, as the Terriers have 284 points, while Vermont is second with 222. UMBC is third with 214 and UNH is fourth (200), while Binghamton, Stony Brook and Maine round out the field.

After earning the top seed in the morning prelims, Clark came back to win the 500 free in a time of 4:49.09, breaking the conference, BU pool and UVM varsity records in the process. Clark's performance was also a NCAA provisional 'B' cut time. She joins Betsy Amos-Jonas '95 as the only Catamounts with a pair of wins at the conference championship, as Clark won the 200 freestyle last year as a sophomore.

Vermont also had five other top 16 finishers in the 500 freestyle, led by junior Molly MacMillan (Doylestown, Pa.) who finished third and freshman Katie Heenen (Clarendon Hills, Ill.) who came in sixth. Freshman Avery Pittman (Raleigh, N.C.) placed 12th, senior Lauren Honrath (Monroe, Conn.) came in 13th and freshman Sara Fogle (North Barrington, Ill.) finished 15th.

In the 200 IM sophomore Kate Weaver (South Burlington, Vt.) placed fifth, breaking a UVM varsity record with a time of 2:05.88. Sophomore Summer Pacelli (Madison, Conn.) also placed 10th in the event.

The Catamounts finished third in the 200 freestyle relay as the team of Clark, freshman Hannah Center (Chevy Chase, Md.), Weaver and senior Rachel Kent (Mystic, Conn.) set a new Vermont record with a time of 1:35.55. In the event Clark set a new UVM mark in the 50 free as she recorded a 23.95 in the opening leg.

Vermont had a pair of top 10 finishers in the three-meter diving, as freshman Charlotte Ford (Greenwich, Conn.) was fifth and classmate Lauren Colby (Andover, Mass.) placed 10th.

The Catamounts also had three top 16 finishes in the 50 freestyle led by Kent, who finished seventh in a time of 24.22. Center placed 11th and classmate Kaitlyn Evarts (Vergennes, Vt.) came in 15th.

"Tonight was another great night and I am really proud with how our team continues to step up and perform at such a high level," said Vermont head coach Gerry Cournoyer. "Being in second place right now is incredible and we are looking forward to keeping our momentum rolling tomorrow."

Day 2 - Morning Prelims
Vermont had another good showing in the morning session on the second day of the America East Championship held at Boston University. The morning sessions of the championship are the preliminary rounds, with the finals taking place each night.

Vermont has six swimmers returning for the final round in the 500 freestyle, led by junior Colleen Clark (Unionville, Conn.) who earned the top seed with a time of 4:50.36. Clark's time broke the conference, Boston University pool and UVM varsity record in the event.

Classmate Molly MacMillan (Doylestown, Pa.) qualified third and freshman Katie Heenan (Clarendon Hills, Ill.) placed eighth, as they will both return for the finals. Senior Lauren Honrath (Monroe, Conn.) as well as freshmen Avery Pittman (Raleigh, N.C.) and Sara Fogle (North Barrington, Ill.) each qualified for the consolation round after finishing in the top 16.

Sophomore Kate Weaver (South Burlington, Vt.) broke another Vermont record with a fifth place showing in the 200 IM in a time of 2:06.62, while sophomore Summer Pacelli (Madison, Conn.) will also return for the consolation later tonight.

Senior Rachel Kent (Mystic, Conn.) earned the seventh seed for the 50 freestyle finals, while freshmen Hannah Center (Chevy Chase, Md.) and Kaitlyn Evarts (Vergennes, Vt.) each qualified for the consolation round. Center's time of 24.43 set a new UVM freshman record as well.

Bronson, Reitz Break School Records as UMBC Men Lead America East Swimming and Diving Championships
Senior Justin Bronson (Oshawa, Ontario, Canada/Msgr. Paul Dwyer) and sophomore Brad Reitz (Gambrills, Md./Arundel) both set school records on their way to earning gold during the second day of the America East Championships in Boston.

After two days of competition, the men have taken over the lead with 295 points, just two points over Boston. The women's side is in third with 214 points, 70 points behind leader Boston University.
Bronson finished the 500 free in 4:24.91, while Reitz touched in the 200 individual medley in 1:48.67. Junior Matt Mattingly (Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill West) earned silver in the 200 IM in 1:50.32.

On the women's side, junior Sam Maccherola (Woolford, Md./South Carroll/Tennessee) earned silver in the 500 free in 4:50.53, while freshman Abbey McKenney (Wilmington, Del./Brandywine) earned bronze in the 50 free in a time of 23.76. Maccherola's time was the second fastest in UMBC history, while McKenney's was third fastest.

In the final events of the day, the women's team of Maccherola, freshman Ashley Miller (New Smyrna Beach, Fla./New Smyrna Beach), senior Daniele Surkovich (Ellicott City, Md./Wilde Lake) and freshman Abbey McKenney (Wilmington, Del./Brandywine) broke the school record in a time of 1:34.80, finishing second. The men's side sophomore Eric Jones (Gambrills, Md./Arundel), senior Milos Djukic (Novi Sad, Serbia & Montenegro/Svetozar Markovic), Matt Mattingly and freshman Jason Mattingly (Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill West) finished in 1:22.15, just one-tenth of a second over the school record.

Stony Brook Medals Twice, Breaks Four More Records During Day Two of Swimming & Diving Championships
Stony Brook University’s swimming & diving teams took home two medals and broke four more records during the second day of competition at the America East Swimming & Diving Championships on Friday. Both of Stony Brook’s medals came in the 500-yard freestyle, with freshman Darcy Heuser (Centerville, Ohio) finishing third in the women’s race and sophomore Lukasz Ochmanski (Lodz, Poland) taking second in the men’s. The women’s team currently sits in sixth place and the men are in fourth.

Heuser completed her race in 4:52.84, breaking the previous school record by 12 seconds. Ochmanski, who finished in 4:29.23, also set a new record, breaking the previous mark by almost two seconds.

Heuser was part of a second record-breaking effort, swimming the lead leg for the 200-yard freestyle relay team. Heuser, freshman Kelsey Stranc (Chicago, Ill.) sophomore Maja Gudelj (Split, Croatia) and junior Rebecca Sayles (Calgary, Alberta) touched in 1:35.93, almost three seconds faster than the previous record and fast enough for fourth-place. Freshman Ian Francis (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) had the fourth record-breaking effort of the day, when he completed the 200-yard IM in 1:55.97, finishing in eighth.