The Fairfield University men’s and women’s swimming & diving teams swept Holy Cross on Saturday, November 1 at the Hart Center Pool. The Fairfield women posted a 164-136 win over the Crusaders while the men tallied a close 151-149 victory.
On the women’s side, senior Meredith LaBerge (Newtown, Pa.) recorded two individual victories in the 1000y freestyle and 500y freestyle. LaBerge posted a 1000y time of 10:58.48 and a 500y time of 5:22.81. Fairfield took the top two spots in the 1000y freestyle event, with Alyssa Acompora (West Islip, N.Y.) clocking in second place at 11:08.74.
Junior Michelle Pleban (Seymour, Conn.) and junior Callie Vacchiano (Huntington, N.Y.) captured an individual victory apiece on the day. Pleban finished first in the 50y freestyle (26.60) while Vacchiano captured the 200y IM (2:21.02).
Rookie Sierra Weiner (Centerport, N.Y.) made a splash, recording three individual victories. Weiner captured the 100y backstroke (1:01.38), the 200y backstroke (2:10.26), and the 100y butterfly (59.67).
The 400y medley relay of Kelly Mulligan (Bellerose, N.Y.), Meghan Guinee (Berkeley Heights, N.J.), Weiner, and Liz Avery (Hampden, Mass.) had a time of 4:14.45 to place first. In the 400y freestyle relay, Pleban, Avery, Mulligan, and Maddie Prior-Hull finished first with a winning time of 3:47.18.
Senior Ashlee Steinberger (Haddonfield, N.J.) captured both the 1-meter and 3-meter diving events for the women. Steinberger recorded a mark of 233.62 on the 1-meter and a personal best score of 254.92 on the 3-meter. Sophomore Caroline Gailius (Milton, Mass.) was the runner-up on the 1-meter event (202.50) while classmate Leah Pawelczyk (Berlin, Conn.) placed second on the 3-meter event (202.65). Lauren Kemple (Walpole, Mass.) took the third place slot for both boards. Kemple posted a 1-meter score of 199.79 and a 3-meter mark of 201.67.
On the men’s side, junior Connor Daly (Reading, Mass.) posted three individual victories. Daly captured the 100y breaststroke with a time of 59.85. He also recorded victories in the 100y butterfly (52.76), and the 200y IM (2:01.65).
Junior Andrew Robinson (Warwick, R.I.) recorded two individual victories in the 1000y freestyle and 500y freestyle. Robinson posted a 1000y time of 10:31.84 and a 500y time of 5:05.65. Rookie Jameson Duncan (Stamford, Conn.) was the runner-up on both events, clocking a 1000y time of 10:38.36 and a 500y time of 5:09.12.
Freshman Collin Hayes (Northport, N.Y.) captured an individual victory on the day. Hayes finished first in the 200y backstroke with a time of 2:04.21.
The 400y medley relay of Hayes, Andrew Tavcar (Queens Village, N.Y.), Daly, and Jay Cook (Lynnfield, Mass.) recorded a time of 3:45.96 to place second. The Stags clinched the two-point victory in the 400y freestyle relay, when Cook, Scott McGinty (Reading, Mass.), Hayes, and Michael Capodanno (Centerport, N.Y.) finished first with a winning time of 3:18.50.
Fairfield took the top two spots in both the men’s 1-meter and 3-meter diving. On the 1-meter, Will Sullivan (East Kingston, N.H.) placed first with a personal best 246.91.
Sophomore Daniel Pires (Chelmsford, Mass.) was a close runner up with a 241.64 while senior Evan Barr (Malvern, Pa.) placed third with a 228.53. On the 3-meter event, Pires posted a personal best 294.60 to capture the board while Barr was the runner-up with a 257.47 mark.
The Fairfield men’s (1-2) and women’s (2-1) teams will continue their action on the road. The swimming & diving team will travel to Poughkeepsie, N.Y. to face conference foe Marist on Saturday, November 8 at 1pm.
