St. Mary's College of Maryland men's swimming took on The Catholic University of America Saturday afternoon in their regular-season finale. The visiting Cardinals (6-5) posted a 126-70 non-conference win over St. Mary's (6-9).
Junior Michael Speer (Springfield, Va./West Springfield) paced St. Mary's on the day with three silver medals while senior captain Bobby Witkop (Chevy Chase, Md./Bethesda-Chevy Chase), junior Grant Burgess (Fallston, Md./Fallston), and sophomore Matt Walchuck (Middletown, Md./Middletown) each a pair of second-place finishes.
The Seahawks started the meet with a second-place finish in the 400 medley relay in 3:47.81 as junior Zach Lilley (Myersville, Md./Middletown), first-year Kieran Broder (Olney, Md./Georgetown Prep), Witkop, and Speer swam on the relay.
Burgess followed suit with a second-place finish of his own in the 1,000 freestyle in 10:17.78 while Speer collected his second silver of the day in the 200 freestyle in 1:52.14. Walchuck nabbed a second-place finish in the 200 individual medley in 2:03.31 and then added another silver medal in the 100 freestyle in 49.83.
Another second-place finish came in the 400 freestyle relay in 3:23.97 behind the efforts of Burgess, sophomore Andrew Braker (Olney, Md./Sherwood), Witkop, and Speer.
Lilley tallied a third-place finish in the 50 freestyle in 23.13 while picking up a fourth-place finish in the 200 backstroke in 2:09.09.
Junior Kian Karimi (Kensington, Md./Walter Johnson) led the Seahawks in the 200 butterfly, coming in third in 2:07.88, while Witkop finished fourth in 2:08.23.
Burgess was the team leader in the 500 freestyle with a time of 5:00.33 for third while first-year Max Madden (Cape St. Clair, Md./Broadneck) came in fourth in 5:10.39.
In the 200 breaststroke, Walchuck claimed a third-place finish in 2:22.44 while Broder placed fourth in 2:24.74.
St. Mary's will now turn its focus to preparing for the 2015 Capital Athletic Conference Swimming Championships which will take place on February 20-22 on the St. Mary's campus.
St. Mary's College of Maryland women's swimming captured eight events Saturday afternoon to post an 118-87 non-conference win over The Catholic University of America (7-4) in the Seahawks' regular-season finale.
Senior captain Brooke Raab (Parkton, Md./Hereford) and junior Zoe McIlmail (Frederick, Md./Urbana) guided St. Mary's (12-3) to the regular-season finale win as the duo combined for five gold medals.
Senior Hannah Hafey (Germantown, Md./Seneca Valley), Raab, junior Cara Machlin (Rockville, Md./Walter Johnson), and McIlmail led the Seahawks to a first-place finish in the 400 medley relay in 4:07.64.
Junior captain Elaina Kohles (Bel Air, Md./John Carroll) and Machlin grabbed a 1-2 finish in the 1,000 freestyle. Kohles won the event in 11:08.59 while Machlin took second in 11:27.32. McIlmail added her second gold medal by touching the wall first in the 200 freestyle in 2:01.10.
St. Mary's notched three of the top 5 finishes in the 200 individual medley as Raab led the way with a first-place finish in 2:15.17. Senior captain Kelsey Abernathy (Ellicott City, Md./Centennial) claimed a third-place finish in 2:23.25 while junior Karlie Straight (Ocean City, Md./Stephen Decatur) took fourth in 2:25.63.
Machlin picked up her second gold in the 200 butterfly with a time of 2:16.45 while first-year Rachel Sonnenberg (Derwood, Md./Magruder) placed third in 2:24.09. Hafey captured the 200 backstroke in 2:16.57 for her second gold medal of the day.
St. Mary's tallied a 1-2 finish in the 500 freestyle and the 200 breaststroke. McIlmail's third gold medal came in the 500 freestyle as she won the event in 5:26.02 while Kohles finished second in 5:31.43. Raab struck gold for the third time in the 200 breaststroke in 2:32.43 while Kohles recorded another silver medal in 2:37.34.
In the 50 freestyle, first-year Elizabeth Straathof (Bethesda, Md./Walter Johnson) placed second in 26.34. Straathof also took second in the 100 freestyle with a time of 57.44 while Abernathy finished third just 10 hundredths of a second later.
The meet ended with a second-place finish in the 400 freestyle relay in 4:01.62 as junior Katie Andersen (Clarksville, Md./River Hill), Straight, Sonnenberg, and Straathof swam on the relay.
St. Mary's will now turn its focus to preparing for the 2015 Capital Athletic Conference Swimming Championships which will take place on February 20-22 on the St. Mary's campus.
