The UMBC Retrievers are the 2015 America East Swimming & Diving Champions. The Retrievers trailed the Wildcats by two points entering Sunday’s events, but key top finishes propelled the Retrievers to their first conference title since 2001.
In the opening preliminary race, Vermont’s Ilsa Feierabend won the top qualifying spot in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 2:02.34. New Hampshire seniors Nicole Anderson and Oneida Cooper finished tied for second, both touching the sensor at 2:03.59.
New Hampshire’s Elizaveta Baykova paced the 100-yard freestyle prelim in a time of 50.36. Binghamton’s Caitlyn Kelly, the 50-yard freestyle champion, placed second, exactly one second behind Baykova. Vermont had three swimmers make the final, headlined by Sarah Mantz who seized fourth in the heat (52.04).
The 200-yard breaststroke preliminary races were dominated by UMBC’s Emily Escobedo’s finishing time. The sophomore finished with a time of 2:10.51, nearly eight seconds faster than New Hampshire junior Bettina Caspersen who took second in 2:18.29. Escobedo’s time sets a new America East championship conference record.
The Wildcats had only one swimmer qualify for the final in the 200-yard butterfly, but it was their senior Katie Mann. Mann won her heat and qualified with fastest pace of 2:00.52. UMBC had three swimmers qualify in the top eight, led by sophomore Hannah Sutherland who took second in the prelims in 2:04.63.
Jessica Harper pushed the Wildcats team lead in the day’s first scoring event, winning the 1650-yard freestyle with a time of 16:42.81. Teammate, and fellow freshman, Bridget Miller took second in 17:13.70. UMBC swept positions three through five: Carly Waters (12:18.39), Stephanie Romano (17:19.30), and Brenda Rhodes (17:22.11).
The 200-yard backstroke final saw a surprise winner. Catherine Frediani, a junior from UMBC, proved to be the catalyst that the Retrievers needed to capture the conference title. Frediani defeated the prelim winner Feierabend with a time of 2:02.76, capturing a key 20 points for her team.
There was never a doubt in both the 100-yard freestyle and 200-yard breaststroke final. Baykova improved upon her trail time in the 100-free and won the event in a blazing time of 50.18. Her teammate Sarah Broderick swam into second place with a mark of 50.74. In the 200-yard breaststroke, it was Escobedo who decided it was time to add another first place finish to her belt. Finishing just three-hundredths of a second behind her record-breaking prelim time, the sophomore won the final with ease, beating out runner up Corinne Zotter of Binghamton (2:18.16).
Mann added to her storybook America East career winning her final individual race in conference competition. The 200-yard butterfly was never in a doubt as the senior led from start to finish, ending with a time of 1:59.96. UMBC’s Hannah Sutherland finished second (2:03.07), and Maine’s Taylor Sharp took third (2:05.69).
In the final event of the 2015 America East Swimming & Diving Championship was the 400-yard freestyle relay. The Wildcats destroyed the previous conference championship record, besting the competition in 3:22.55. Baykova, Harper, Mann and Broderick teamed together and took down the old record set at 3:23.53 by Boston University in 2010.
Here are the final point totals for the 2015 America East Swimming & Diving Championship:
1. UMBC: 791
2. New Hampshire: 777
3. Vermont: 662
4. Binghamton: 470.5
5. Maine: 433.5
The award winner for the championship’s Most Outstanding Swimmer went to UMBC Sophomore Emily Escobedo. The back-to-back award winner won three individual events throughout the championship: the 200-yard IM, 100-yard breaststroke, and 200-yard breaststroke. Escobedo set new conference championship records in all her individual events in addition to placing first.
Maggie Preston of the University of Vermont was named the Most Outstanding Diver. The Catamount junior finished fourth in the one-meter dive with a tally of 236.65, and took first place in the three-meter scoring a 260.15.
The championship’s Most Outstanding Rookie award went to Baykova of UNH. The Moscow, Russia native had successful championship; a member of the winning 800-yard, 200-yard freestyle, and 400-yard medley relay teams; finished second in the 50-yard freestyle, and first in the 100-yard and 200-yard freestyle.
Mann was the recipient of the David Alexander coach’s award, which is given to the senior student-athlete who has accumulated the most points during her four-year career at the conference championship. Mann finished her career with 213 points while competing at the America East Championship.
In addition to the David Alexander award, Mann also earned the Elite 18 Award, which is given to a student exemplifying excellence, both in their sport, and in the classroom. As an English major with a cumulative GPA of 3.89, Mann proved she is a force to be reckoned with both in the classroom and pool.
UMBC Head Coach Chad Cradock, along with assistants Chris Gibeau, Rob Bellamy, Brandt Nigro, and Petar Trifonov were honored with the Coaching Staff of the Year award.
New Hampshire
Liza Baykova (Moscow, Russia), Jessica Harper (Easthampton, Mass.) and Katie Mann (Prince George, British Columbia) continued their winning ways during the final day of the America East Championships, leading the University of New Hampshire women's swimming & diving team to a second-place finish Sunday at Worcester Polytechnic Institute Sports & Recreation Center.
The University of Maryland, Baltimore County prevailed on the final day of competition with 791 points while UNH finished in second with 777. The Wildcats were followed by the University of Vermont (662), Binghamton University (470.5) and the University of Maine (433.5).
Mann was acknowledged by the conference with the Dave Alexander Coaches Award and the Elite 18 Award. The Dave Alexander Coaches award is annually given to the senior that has compiled the most career points at the America East Championships. The accolade is named in honor of the late Dave Alexander, the longtime Stony Brook University men's & women's swimming & diving head coach. The America East Elite 18 Award Program was established by the conference in June 2013 for implementation in the 2014-15 academic year to honor the highest achievement in academics and athletics by a student-athlete in each America East sponsored sport. Modeled after the NCAA Elite 89 Academic Recognition Award Program, the Elite 18 award is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade point average competing at the finals site at each of the America East's 18 team championships.
The two-time NCAA participant posted individual victories in the 400-yard IM (4 minutes, 13.51 seconds) and the 200-yard butterfly (1:59.96). The senior also contributed to the record-setting 400- (3:22.55) and 800-yard freestyle relays (7:20.32). Additionally, she was a member of the top time in the 400-yard medley relay that turned in a time of 3:44.32. Mann became the second UNH swimmer to win the 400-yard IM all four years at the conference championships. The conference and program record holder joins Kristen Latourelle (1997-2001) as the only Wildcats to accomplish the feat.
Baykova was named the championship's Most Outstanding Rookie. Prior to the final day of competition, she snapped a program and league record in the 200-yard freestyle, ripping through the water to hit the wall at 1:47.48. The record-breaking performance snapped Denise Leckenby's UNH time of 1:48.33 set in 1996. She also claimed gold on the last day in the 100-yard freestyle, clocking in at 50.18. The mark was just .52 seconds shy of a league record. In the relay races, she was a member of the winning squads in the 200-yard freestyle (1:33.91), 400-yard medley 400-yard freestyle and 800-yard freestyle squads.
New Hampshire posted a one-two finish to start the final day of competition in the 1,650-yard freestyle. Harper overcame the field and grinded out a first-place time of 16:42.81. The freshman was followed by classmate Bridget Miller (Longmeadow, Mass.), who turned in a silver medal and career-high performance of 17:13.70. Sophomore Lauren Marsden (Washington, D.C.) rounded out the scorers for UNH in the event, placing 11th in the field with a mark of 17:50.74. New Hampshire combined for 43 points in the event.
Oneida Cooper (Johannesburg, South Africa) highlighted the Wildcats in the 200-yard backstroke, earning 16 points and a third place time of 2:03.65. She was joined in the scoring column by senior Nicole Anderson (Dover, N.H.) who churned out a seventh place time of 2:05.93, good for 12 points.
UNH notched another one-two finish in the 100-yard freestyle to snag 37 points. Behind Baykova's winning time of 50.18, sophomore Sarah Broderick (Haverhill, Mass.) followed with a runner-up and personal best performance of 50.74. Freshman Kaitlin Cahill (Troy, N.Y.) bolstered the scoring in the event with a career-best time of 52.96 to place 13th and add four points to UNH's tally.
Junior Bettina Caspersen (Lyngby, Denmark) claimed a spot on the podium to pace the 'Cats in the 200-yard breaststroke. She was able to part the water and touch the panel at 2:18.32 in the event to claim bronze. Sophomore Sarah Olver (Milwaukee, Wis.) joined Caspersen in the scoring column with a sixth place and career-best mark of 2:19.76, shaving off 2.81 seconds from her preliminary time of 2:22.57. Senior Kathryn Violette (Portland, Maine) capped off the scoring in the event with a 15th place time of 2:27.70. New Hampshire combined for 30 points in the event.
Behind Mann's first place finish in the 200-yard butterfly, senior Megan Suffel (Cornwall, Ontario) powered through the water to capture fifth in the event, clocking in at 2:06.10. Despite the UNH duo racking up 34 points, UMBC gained its first lead of the championships into the final event.
New Hampshire punctuated the meet with a conference record in the 400-yard freestyle as the quartet of Baykova, Harper, Mann and Broderick engineered a time of 3:22.55. The mark trumped Boston University's time of 3:23.53 set back in 2010. However, the deficit was too much to overcome as UMBC placed fifth in the event and earned enough points to stave off UNH and win the title.
UNH turns its attention to the ECAC Championships, hosted at the University of Pittsburgh's Trees Pool. The three-day meet will begin Friday, Feb. 27.
Vermont
Vermont swimming and diving wrapped up the final day of competition at the America East Championships on Sunday night from Worcester Polytechnic Institute. The Catamounts set a program record with 662 points at the event and tied for their best-ever finish with a third-place showing for the third consecutive year.
UMBC took home the America East title with 791 points, edging out last year's champion, New Hampshire (777 pts.). Vermont (662) topped its old record of 640 points, which was set at the 2014 America East Championships. Binghamton (470.5) and Maine (433.5) rounded out the final two spots in the team standings.
Junior diver Maggie Preston was named the event's Most Outstanding Diver, as she became the first-ever Catamount to take home the award. Preston claimed the title in the 3-meter diving event with a score of 256.95 on Saturday, and placed fourth in the 1-meter on Thursday.
Preston, along with junior Andie Blaser and senior Ilsa Feierabend, earned America East All-Conference honors after posting top-three individual finishes at the championships. Blaser was the champion in the 100 fly and also registered a third-place showing in the 100 free, while Feierabend placed second in the 200 back.
Vermont closed out the final night of competition on Sunday by setting a new varsity school record in the 400 free relay. Blaser, Christa Weaver, Katie Adams and Sarah Mantz clocked in at 3:24.89 to take second place and break the old mark of 3:25.30, which the same four swimmers set at last year's conference championships.
In the 200 back, Feierabend paced the Catamounts with a second-place showing in a time of 2:03.14. Elena Melloni took fourth place with a time of 2:04.00, while Estee Dilli (2:08.75) and Jess Gorham (2:10.07) were Vermont's other top finishers.
The Catamounts placed five swimmers in the top-12 of the 100 free, led by Blaser (51.16) and Mantz (51.70), who finished third and fourth, respectively. Adams (52.31), Weaver (52.44) and Abby Holmquist (52.93) were the other UVM swimmers to score points in the event.
Lauren Punger led the way for Vermont in the 200 fly, registering a fourth-place showing in 2:05.72. Ali McClure took seventh place with a time of 2:09.14, and Alexy Novelli clocked in at 2:08.58 to earn an 11th-place finish.
Freshmen Maddie Blumenfeld (17:29.98) and Kelly Lennon (17:38.01) paced the Catamounts in the 1650 free, taking sixth and eighth place, respectively. McClure also collected points in the event with a time of 18:01.28.
In the 200 breast, rookie Shannon Cowley was Vermont's top performer as she touched the wall in 2:22.47 to place eighth overall.
