Fairfield Splits with St. Peter's, Fordham

The Fairfield University men's and women's swimming and diving team split a double-dual meet between Fordham and MAAC foe Saint Peter's this evening. The Fairfield men's team defeated Saint Peter's, 127-109, but fell to Fordham, 143-94. The Fairfield women defeated Saint Peter's, 169.5-65.5 but fell to Fordham, 165-72. Both teams move to 2-1 overall and 1-0 in the MAAC.

Senior Taylor Stecko (South Windsor, Conn.) was a double-winner for the Stags, taking both diving events and breaking a program record in the process. On the 3-meter, Stecko notched a mark of 278.03 to eclipse the previous standard of 273.22 set by Greg Zacholl in 2002. Stecko now holds three of four Fairfield diving records. He also captured the 1-meter with a score of 259.13.

Sophomore Michelle Yoshida (Kaneohe, Hawaii) captured the women's 100-yard backstroke with a time of 58.47 seconds, less than a second off her program record in the event.

Freshman Paul Bimmler (Reading, Mass.), the reigning MAAC Men's Swimmer of the Week, continued his strong debut with the Stags. He was the runner up in the 100 free with a time of 48.53 seconds, less than a second off the winning pace of Fordham's Justin Coombs. Bimmler also took third in the 50 free with a time of 22.25 seconds, just three-tenths of a second off the program record.

Sophomore Andrew Robinson (Manalapan, N.J.) took third in the men's 200 free with a time of 1:50.56 while classmate Tommy Peters (Basking Ridge, N.J.) was third in the 500 free with a time of 5:06.58.  Freshman Andrew Hiss (Freehold, N.J.) was fourth in the 100 back with a time of 55.37 seconds. Senior Boris Romanovsky (Marblehead, Mass.) was fifth in the 100 fly with a time of 54.34 seconds while junior Jonathan O'Connor (Norwalk, Conn.) was fifth in the 1000 free with a time of 10:34.91.

Sophomore Brian Friedlander (River Edge, N.J.) picked up second-place points in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:01.82 while Charlie Helm (Cheshire, Conn.) took third with a time of 1:04.07. Freshman Tim McCann (Hackettstown, N.J.) was fourth with a time of 1:06.53.

On the women's side, freshman Brigitte Germain (Scranton, Pa.) took third in the 1000 free with a time of 11:42.15. In the 100 breaststroke, sophomore Emily Kelly (Haddon Heights, N.Y.) was second with a time of 1:14.08 while junior Allison Russoniello (Middletown, N.J.) was third with a time of 1:14.22.

Junior Katie Merz (Absecon, N.J.) was fifth in the 200 free with a time of 2:00.93 while sophomore Teresa Garrity (Glens Falls, N.Y.) was fifth in the 50 free with a time of 26.45 seconds. Sophomore Brenna Dean (Edison, N.J.) was fifth in the 500 free with a time of 5:45.09 while Marissa Toselli (Port Washington, N.Y) was fifth in the 100 free with a time of 57.58 seconds.

The men's 400 freestyle relay of Greg Bellizzi (Edison, N.J.), Robinson, Romanovsky, and Bimmler took first with a time of 3:19.29. The women's freestyle relay of Ceglia, Conroy, Dean, and Garrity was also victorious with a time of 3:53.65.

Also on the boards, junior Brett Carisio (Cheshire, Conn.) finished third in both events with a mark of 204.75 on the 1-meter and a score of 179.93 on the 3-meter. Freshman Ryan Krebs (East Williston, N.Y.) was fifth in both events with a score of 149.85 on the 1-meter and a score of 114.45 on the 3-meter. On the women's side, senior Hillary Urbancic (Concord, Mass.) was fourth in both events with a score of 150.23 on the 1-meter and a mark of 172.95 on the 3-meter. Sophomore Paige Jackson (Duxbury, Mass.) was fifth on both boards with a score of 121.43 on the 1-meter and a mark of 120.30 on the 3-meter. Freshman Kim Pettit (Fanwood, N.J.) was sixth in both events with a score of 113.10 on the 1-meter and a mark of 109.28 on the 3-meter.

On October 24, the swimmers will head to the Husky Invitational at UConn while the divers will host Stony Brook at 10am at the RecPlex.