The Fairfield University men’s and women’s swimming & diving teams opened the 2013-14 season with a split against the College of Holy Cross this afternoon at the RecPlex. The Fairfield women posted a 159.5-135.5 win over the Crusaders while the men were edged 151-146.
On the women’s side, sophomore Kelly Mulligan recorded three individual victories on the day. Mulligan captured the 100m backstroke (1:08.73), the 200m backstroke (2:27.33), and the 200m IM (2:30.26).
Senior Suzy Lawlor and junior Meredith LaBerge each recorded two individual victories. Lawlor captured the 100m breaststroke (1:16.93) and the 200m breaststroke (2:50.35) while LaBerge posted wins in the 800m freestyle (9:37.10) and the 400m freestyle (4:41.84).
Senior Margaret Osmulski picked up a win with a time of 2:15.24 in the 200m freestyle. Osmulski also posted a personal best time of 1:12.25 for the 100m butterfly.
Freshman Meghan Guinee made her collegiate debut in the 200m breaststroke and the 200m IM. Guinee posted a time of 2:54.46 to place second in the 200m breaststroke. In the 200m IM, she had a time of 2:39.11 to place third.
The 200m medley relay of Mulligan, Lawlor, Megan Kuzniewski, and Meghan Weiser had a time of 2:09.37 to place second. In the 400m freestyle relay, Liz Avery, Lawlor, Weiser, and Osmulski had a time of 4:15.79 to finish second.
Junior Ashlee Steinberger captured both the 1-meter and 3-meter diving events for the women. Steinberger recorded a mark of 229.28 on the 1-meter and a score of 227.33 on the 3-meter. The runner-up for the 1-meter event was freshman Caroline Gailius while the runner-up for the 3-meter event was junior Lauren Kemple. Gailius had a mark of 165.38 on the 1-meter and Kemple had a score of 180.83 on the 3-meter. Freshman Leah Pawelczyk made her collegiate debut placing third in both events. Pawelczyk posted a 155.33 on the 1-meter and scored a 143.40 on the 3-meter.
On the men’s side, sophomore Connor Daly posted three individual victories and set a program record. Daly captured the 200m butterfly with a time of 2:11.81, breaking his own previous record of 2:12.21. He also recorded victories in the 200m backstroke (2:13.62), and the 200m IM (2:13.72).
Fairfield took the top three spots in the 800m freestyle. Senior Kevin Greener posted a winning time of 9:12.76, while sophomore Andrew Robinson was the runner-up with a time of 9:21.15. Sophomore Nick Cannone placed third with a time of 9:29.02. Greener also recorded a second individual win in the 400m freestyle with a time of 4:27.74.
Senior Cody Parker recorded an individual victory and one relay win. Parker captured the 200m freestyle in just 2:01.72. He was also the second leg of the 400m freestyle relay which recorded a winning time of 3:46.20. In the 100m butterfly, Parker had a time of 1:01.86 to place second.
Freshmen Scott McGinty and Andrew Tavcar made splashes in their collegiate debut recording a relay win. Tavcar swam the third leg and McGinty anchored in the 400m freestyle relay which recorded a winning time of 3:46.20. McGinty also recorded two second place finishes in freestyle events. He recorded a time of 24.97 in the 50m freestyle while he recorded a time of 54.72 in the 100m freestyle.
The 200m medley relay of Daly, Kevin Kett, Parker, and McGinty had a time of 1:53.67 to place second.
Fairfield took the top two spots in both the men’s 1-meter and 3-meter diving. On the 1-meter, junior Evan Barr placed first with a score of 259.20. Freshman Daniel Pires made his collegiate debut as the runner-up, posting a 235.13 score on the event. On the 3-meter, Pires took the top spot with a score of 266.33, while junior Evan Barr was the runner-up with a score of 261.90 on the event.
The Fairfield men’s (0-1) and women’s (1-0) teams will continue on the road for the next several meets. The Stags travel to Manhattan on October 18 followed by Fordham on October 25. On October 26, the diving team will travel to New Britain, Conn. to compete in the CCSU Diving Invitational. The Stags will then return home to host MAAC opponent Marist on November 9 at 1pm.
