University of Maryland, Baltimore County continued to dominate with 699 points after the third day of the 2015 Coastal Collegiate Swimming Association (CCSA) Swimming and Diving Championships contested Friday at the University of Georgia’s Gabrielson Natatorium.
University of The Incarnate Word sits second in the standings with 535 points. Gardner-Webb holds the third spot with 484 points followed by New Jersey Institute of Technology with 190 points. Virginia Military Institute sits in fifth place with 158 points, while Howard rounds out the field with 113 points.
David Moore from the University of the Incarnate Word won the 400-yard individual medley for the second year, posting a mark of 3:47.97, an NCAA “B” qualifying time. UMBC’s Nikola Trajkovic finished in second-place with a time of 3:53.95, an NCAA “B” qualifying time and Incarnate Word’s Aaron Moran finished third with a time of 3:55.65.
In the 100-yard butterfly, GWU took the top two spots with Nathan Lile touching in at 48.52, an NCAA “B” cut time, and Tyler Gomez finishing with a time of 49.08. Incarnate Word’s Kaulen Applin rounded out the podium with a time of 49.17.
Four swimmers accomplished NCAA “B” cut times in the 200-yard freestyle. UMBC’s Gregor Spoerlein led the way with a time of 1:37.61, followed by UIW’s Mehdi El Hazzaz coming in at 1:37.87. Robert Breen of UMBC touched third with a time of 1:37.92. UIW’s Connor Hennessy recorded the fourth NCAA “B” cut time, touching in at 1:37.97.
UMBC picked up another victory with Leo Endres taking the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 54.59, followed by UIW’s Andrey Chechelnytskyi touching in at 55.27; both times qualify for NCAA “B” cut times. John Carroll of UMBC touched third with a time of 55.84.
Connor Bos of GWU took the top spot in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 49.05. Rounding out the podium was UMBC’s Andrew Schrantz, with a time of 49.36 and GWU’s John Baker, touching in at 49.74.
For the second consecutive night UMBC’s Ryan Green took the diving title, this time in the one-meter, with a score of 317.15. Teammate, Pak Lam Wong finished second with a score of 300.15, followed by IWU’s Brendan Schaffer with 281.45 points.
The UMBC team of Nikola Trajkovic, Leo Endres, Andrew Schrantz and Gregor Spoerlein closed out the night with a time of 3:16.41 in the 400-yard medley relay. The UIW team of Jorge Escarcega, Andrey Chechelnytskyi, Kaulen Applin and Mehdi El Hazzaz touched second with a time of 3:17.27, followed by GWU (Connor Bos, Brandon Searle, Tyler Gomez and Joe MacGregor) touching in at 3:20.85
The FGCU women remain in first place with 1114 points after the third day of the 2015 Coastal Collegiate Swimming Association (CCSA) Swimming and Diving Championships contested Friday at the University of Georgia’s Gabrielson Natatorium.
Liberty is in second with 834 points, followed by Georgia Southern University with 782.5 points and Gardner-Webb University with 675.5 points. University of Incarnate Word sits in fifth with 618 points, with Campbell in sixth with 384 points, followed by UNC-Asheville in seventh at 161 points. University of North Florida (239 points), North Carolina A&T (161 points), Virginia Military Institute (151 points) and Howard University (102 points) round out the field.
Florida Gulf Coast started the evening session with a record-breaking win by Alona Kyselova in the 400-yard Individual Medley with a time of 4:13.15. Karen Vilorio of FGCU followed in second with a time of 4:18.74. GWU’s London Schumacher finished in third-place with a time of 4:18.74. All three winners posted NCAA “B” qualifying times.
FGCU continued the evening with another victory by Emma Svensson in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 53.22, a NCAA “B” cut time. GWU’s Giorgie Graves touched second with a time of 54.76, followed by FGCU’s Yee Ching Wong at 54.86.
Lani Cabrera gave FGCU their third victory of the night, touching in at 1:49.93 in the 200-yard freestyle. GSU’s Kylee Parsons touched second with a time of 1:50.26, followed by FGCU’s Sara Hamilton at a time of 1:50.30.
Freshman Katie Armitage from FGCU recorded a NCAA “B” cut time in the 100-yard freestyle touching in 1:00.28. GWU’s Charity Byrum touched in at 1:02.09 for second, while FGCU’s Evita Leter rounded out the podium coming in at 1:02.18, both NCAA “B” cut times.
Kira Toussaint of FGCU defended her title in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 52.82. Kendall Hough improved from her third place finish last year, touching second with a time of 53.98. FGCU’s Sandra Wilk finished third with a time of 54.71. All three swimmers posted NCAA “B” cut times, as well as fourth-place finisher Victoria Tschoke of Liberty.
FGCU (Kira Toussaint, Katie Armitage, Yee Ching Wong and Emma Svensson) finished their dominate night, breaking the meet and CCSA record in the 400-yard medley relay with a time of 3:34.11, a NCAA “A” cut time.
Liberty (Kendall Hough, Prudence Rooker, Natalie Beale and Meghan Babcock) touched second with a time of 3:43.11, while GSU (Christina Moran, Abbie Lavallin, Megan Heller and Elaina Lanson) finished in third-place with a mark of 3:46.35.
The CCSA Championship wraps up competition on Saturday, Feb. 21 at 10:00 a.m., starting with the 200-yard backstroke preliminaries. The event finals for the final day will start at 6:00 p.m.
Georgia Southern
The Georgia Southern Swimming and Diving team took to the Gabrielsen Natatorium pool Friday for Day Three of the Coastal Carolina Swimming Association Championship. Day Three featured preliminaries and finals in the 400 Individual Medley, 100 Fly, 200 Free, 100 Breast and 100 Back.
The Eagles moved up to the 3rd spot at the completion of day three with a total score of 782. Florida Gulf Coast leads the way with 1114 points, and Liberty is 2nd with 834. Gardner-Webb stands in 4th with 675, and rounding out the top-five is Incarnate Word with 618.
"This was a monster day for us and it feels good to have moved up in to the 3rd spot as a team," said Head Coach Nate Kellogg. "We had more swimmers in the finals than any other program at the meet so we were able to gain some ground and earn additional points. Overall, the girls really stepped up. We would have liked to be a little bit faster tonight, but I think it's just a bit of fatigue starting to set in. We can't let that happen tomorrow."
Amber Juncker began the evening's events when she finished 6th in the 400 Individual Medley with a time of 4:27.18. Teammates Lauren Campbelland Allyn Case finished 9th and 14th respectively with times of 4:25.23 and 4:34.92.
In the 100 Fly preliminaries, Megan Heller set a school record with a time of 55.96. The school record was short lived, however, as Heller went even faster in the 100 Fly Finals. Improving her time by 6/100th of a second Heller touched in 55.90 which was good enough for 6th place.
Megan Liebl took 8th in the 100 Fly with a time of 56.23, Becca Alves was 13th in 56.90, Abbie Lavallin took 15th in 57.73 and Anna Battistello was 16th in 57.80.
Kylee Parsons finished 2nd in the 200 Free with a time of 1:50.26. Thomas, who entered the event seeded 1st after preliminaries, was 6th in the finals touching in 1:51.68
In the 100 Breast, Amber Cortazzo finished 7th in 1:03.99, Abbie Lavallin was 8th in 1:04.80, Madison Lichtefeld touched in 14th with a time of 1:05.06 and Case was 16th in 1:06.96.
Christina Moran set a school record in the preliminaries of the 100 Back with a time of 55.51. Seeded 4th going in to finals, Moran's school record would be short-lived as she went even faster in finals with a new school record time of 55.38 to finish 6th.
"I'm happy that she set a school record, not once, but twice today," said Kellogg. "All year, her 100 has been just a little bit off, so it's awesome that she came out and performed the way she did today. She had 2 lifetime bests today and it's just a testament to what she has worked so hard for over the past three years."
In the 400 Medley Realy, the team of Moran, Heller, Lavallin and Lanson combined to finish 3rd with a time of 3:46.35.
Liberty
The Liberty swimming & diving team maintained its second-place position after day three of the 2015 CCSA Swimming & Diving Championships.
Liberty, the defending champion, enters the final day of competition in second place with 834 points. Florida Gulf Coast, the 2014 conference runner-up, leads with 1,114 points in search of its sixth title in the last seven seasons. Georgia Southern is in third with 782.5 points, while Gardner-Webb (675.5) and Incarnate Word (618) round out the top five.
For the day, Liberty had 17 finals swims (eight A finals, eight B finals and one C final), 12 lifetime bests, two NCAA B cuts, two podium finishes (one individual, one relay) and two program records.
Senior Emily Duff began the evening session for the Lady Flames with a program-record 4:19.56 to place fourth in the 400 individual medley. Incarnate Word’s Alona Kyselova won in a conference, meet-record and NCAA B cut time of 4:13.15.
Liberty freshman Kendall Hart placed fifth in the 100 fly in a lifetime-best 55.79, while junior Natalie Beale swam 55.94 for seventh. Junior Ranndi Grubbs placed second in the B final, taking 10th overall in a lifetime-best 56.31, while freshman Danielle Boothe took 14th place in 57.66.
The Lady Flames then took fourth and eighth in the 200 free A final, led by senior Meghan Babcock’s season-best 1:51.11. Junior Kristin VanDeventer placed eighth in 1:52.28. Freshman Rachel Hoeve swam a lifetime-best 1:53.23 for 11th and classmate Ashlee Sall placed 12th in 1:53.41.
Freshman Prudence Rooker claimed fourth in the 100 breaststroke with a personal-best 1:02.55. Classmate Rachel Wasko’s best time of 1:04.35 was good for 13th, while freshman Danielle Boothe swam a lifetime-best 1:07.17 for 18th in finals.
Junior Kendall Hough became the first Lady Flame to break 54 minutes in the 100 back, taking second in a lifetime-best, program-record, NCAA B cut time of 53.98. Sophomore Victoria Tschoke picked up her first career B cut, coming in fourth in a lifetime-best 54.89. Junior Natalie Beale swam 56.37 for ninth overall and Chloe Thomas’ 58.06 placed 14th.
The Lady Flames closed out the evening session by finishing second in the 400 medley relay. Liberty’s Hough (54.42), Rooker (1:02.69), Beale (55.94) and Babcock (50.06) combined for a time of 3:43.11. Florida Gulf Coast won in a new CCSA, meet-record and NCAA A cut time of 3:34.11.
Liberty opened the morning with the 400 IM, as Duff swam a 4:24.64 to qualify in fifth for the A final. Sarah Browning’s top time of the season, 4:30.50, placed her in the B final at 13th.
The Lady Flames earned four finalists in the 100 fly. Natalie Beale clocked 55.71, a season best, to place fifth, while Hart swam a then lifetime-best 56.00 for seventh position. Grubbs (56.95) and Boothe (57.42) both made the B final for Liberty. Rachel Rippey recorded a personal-best 57.32 and Sydney Archuleta went a season-best 1:01.26, both as exhibition swimmers.
Babcock’s 1:51.15 clocking qualified her in third for the 200 free A final. VanDeventer swam 1:51.93, good for seventh. Sall clocked a collegiate-best 1:52.99 for 12th, while Hoeve’s 1:54.47 put her in 16th. Freshman Chelsea Pond (1:57.19) and senior Cori Gary (1:57.23) finished in 28th and 29th, respectively.
Rooker placed fourth in qualifying for the 100 breaststroke in 1:02.92. Wasko swam a then lifetime-best 1:04.76, good for 13th in prelims, while Boothe’s best time of 1:07.46 made the C final, in 19th.
Liberty finished the morning session with four finals qualifications in the 100 back. Hough broke Liberty’s existing program record in NCAA B cut 54.18 to qualify second. Tschoke swam her then personal best time, 55.53, to tie for fifth in advancing to the A final. Beale went 56.48, good for ninth, while Thomas (57.90) joined her as a B finalist. Archuleta swam a lifetime best, 57.01, while Rippey also clocked a best time, 57.82.
UMBC
UMBC men's swimming and diving continues their dominant performance at the 2015 CCSA Championships. The men remain in first place heading into the final day.
Nikola Trajkovic () placed second in the 400 IM to kick off day three. Trajkovic set a new school record in the event, finishing in 3:53.95. The mark also qualified Nikola with an NCAA B cut.
Three Retrievers finished in the top five of the 200 free. Gregor Sporlein () won the event with a time of 1:37.61, while Rob Breen () and Jonas Gutzat () also earned points for UMBC. Breen finished in third with a time of 1:37.92, and Gutzat was fifth in 1:38.13. Leo Endres took gold in the 100 breast, setting a new school record in a time of 54.59. John Carroll () finished third in a time of 55.84.
Andrew Schrantz (New Holland, Pa./Garden Spot) placed second in the 100 back with a time of 49.36, finishing just behind Connor Bos of Gardner-Webb. The final swimming event of the day was the 400 medley relay, which UMBC won. The team of Trajkovic, Endres, Schrantz and Sporlein took gold, touching the wall in 3:16.41.
Ryan Green (Ellicott City, Md./Centennial) swept the diving disciplines, winning the 1 meter dive on Friday. Green scored 317.15, while fellow senior Pak Lam Wong(Hong Kong/Kowloon Technical School) took second with a score of 300.15.
Heading into the final day of competition, UMBC sits in first with 699 points. Incarnate Word is in second place, with 535 points. Gardner-Webb and NJIT are holding strong at third and fourth with 484 and 190 points respectively. VMI (158 points) and Howard (113) round out the field.
VMI Men
Christian Shaner set a new school record in the 100 fly, pacing the VMI Keydet men's swimming and diving team on day three at the Coastal Collegiate Swimming Association (CCSA) championships, contested Friday in Athens, Ga.
Shaner set the new mark in the 100 fly by touching the wall in 51.23, over a second better than the old mark set two seasons ago. He led three Keydets in the B final of the event, including Matt Johnson (15th, 53.06) and JT Lancaster (16th, 54.03).
Also advancing to a B final Friday was John Kelly, who clocked in at 1:44.52 in the 200 free to finish 15th overall. Jeff Whiteman was 18th in that event, just two places out of the B final, and Mitch Fornwald (17th in 100 breast) and Ben Fields (18th in 100 back) joined him in missing B finals by two positions or less.
Also in action on Friday was freshman Alex Rofail, who scored 175.60 points in 1-meter diving to finish eighth overall.
All told, the Keydets are in 5th place overall with 158 points, 45 ahead of Howard and 32 behind NJIT. UMBC leads Incarnate Word at the top of the charts, 699-535.
VMI Women
Varsity records for Gabby Galvez and McKenzie Raber headlined the VMI Keydet women's swimming and diving efforts on day three of the Coastal Collegiate Swimming Association (CCSA) championships, contested Friday in Athens, Ga. The Keydets currently sit in 10th place in the team standings.
Galvez not only set an individual record, but also swam the fly leg on the record-setting 400 medley relay. There, she teamed with Mackenzie Perkins, Rebecca Serrano and Natalie Rivas to clock in at 4:12.08, good for 11th but over seven seconds under their seed time.
Galvez also, as mentioned, posted a new individual mark in the 100 fly. She touched the wall in 1:02.97 and was 40th in the crowded field.
The other record of the day fell to Raber, who set a new mark in the 200 free when she finished 33rd in 1:59.51. That gives the freshman seven VMI records between her freshman and varsity achievements.
All told, the Keydets are in 10th place with 151 points, 49 markers clear of Howard and 10 behind North Carolina A&T. Florida Gulf Coast leads Liberty at the top of the standings, 1114 to 834
