Virginia
The Virginia women’s swimming and diving team captured the team title at the ECAC Championships Sunday (Feb. 28) in Annapolis, Md.
The Cavalier women, who had 11 swimmers and four divers competing at the meet, finished first with total of 751.5 points, ahead of Navy (413.5) and Army (390). In addition to the team title, UVA assistant coach Clif Robbins was named Women’s Coach of the Meet. On Saturday, freshman Kirsten Parkinson (Stamford, Conn.) was named Women’s Diver of the Meet. The UVA men, who had five student-athletes competing, placed eighth with 222 points.
Sophomore Jessie Gvozdas (Henrico, Va.) led off the final session with a win in the women’s 1,650-yard freestyle in 16:32.33, while freshman Julia Durmer (Decatur, Ga.) was third in 16:49.04. In the men’s mile, senior Greg Stoffa (Manassas, Va.) placed third in 15:42.44.
Freshman Eryn Eddy (Loveland, Colo.) touched first in the women’s 100 free in 48.81, while sophomores Dina Rommel (East Amherst, N.Y.) and Laine Reed (Austin, Texas) were third and fourth in 50.29 and 50.53, respectively.
In the men’s 200 fly, junior John Denning (Chesapeake, Va.) won the race in 1:49.14.
In the final women’s race of the meet, the 400 free relay of Eddy, Reed, Rommel and senior Samantha James (Kenilworth, Ill.) finished first in an ECAC Championship-record time of 3:18.68. Eddy’s lead-off 100 free split of 48.58 was also an meet-record time and ranks fourth on UVA’s all-time list.
The Cavalier women went 2-3-4 in the 200 fly with freshman Payton Baldwin (Newport News, Va.), Gvozdas and freshman Rachel Politi (Bexley, Ohio) clocking times of 1:58.10, 2:01.47 and 2:01.78, respectively.
In the women’s 200 breast, freshman Sara Stranick (Charlotte, N.C.) placed third in 2:13.52, while in the men’s 200 breast, senior Matheus Martini (Sao Paulo, Brazil) was fourth in 2:01.53.
Marist Men
Sophomore Peter Gallino was named Diver of the Meet on the final day of the 2016 Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championships, as the Marist men’s swimming and diving team finished in seventh place with 250 points.
Gallino finished in second place in the 1-meter dive with 279.50 points. On the first night of the meet he had racked up 292.95 points at three meters to finish second behind senior teammate Josh Dodway. Dodway finished fourth in today’s one meter event with 269.50 points.
In the swimming events, the all freshman 400-yard freestyle relay squad of Daniel Knoll, Gregory Violette, Michael Valceanu and Miguel Madeira clocked in at a fourth place time of 3:04.12. Individually, Knoll jumped up five spots from his place in the preliminaries to finish 11th in the 100-yard freestyle (46.15 seconds) and sophomore Robert McDowell placed 10th in the 200-yard backstroke (1:49.35). Freshman Miguel Basalo was the Red Foxes’ lone competitor in the 1,650-yard freestyle and he finished with a time of 16:08.29 for ninth place.
Marist will be represented at the NCAA Zone Qualifier Diving Championships from March 7-9 at the same facility, Lejeune Hall, on the campus of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.
Marist Women
The Marist women’s swimming and diving team ended the 2016 Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championships in fourth place with 330.5 points.
The Red Foxes moved up a spot from last year’s finish with the help of a third place time of 3:27.88 by the 400-yard freestyle relay team. Marist’s squad was composed of sophomore Georgia Goldman, senior Bethany Powhida, senior Bridget Curley and junior Meredith Wurtz.
Wurtz also finished eighth in the 100-yard freestyle (51.20 seconds) while Powhida clocked in at 2:03.32 in the 200-yard backstroke for fourth place. Marist had four finalists in the 1,650-yard freestyle with sophomore Melanie Newton earning the highest Red Fox finish.
Marist will be represented at the NCAA Zone Qualifier Diving Championships from March 7-9 at the same facility, Lejeune Hall, on the campus of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.
Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams concluded action in the 2016 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Championships, highlighted by Kinga Cichowska’s performance in the 200 breast.
Cichowska posted the team’s most impressive swim of the afternoon, claiming second in the final of the 200 breast with an NCAA B cut time of 2:13.36. Teammate Maddie Marcelle placed 10th in the race, earning a time of 2:22.19, a lifetime best time for the senior.
Taking second in the B final and 10th overall, Samantha Baird completed a successful weekend with a time of 2:04.24 in the 200 back.
The team of Baird, Kirsten Groff, Jenny Young and Tia VanLandeghem placed fourth in the 400 free relay, touching with a final time of 3:29.32.
In addition, Allison Murslack placed 16th in the 1650 free, earning a time of 17:40.78.
The Panther women wrap up the three-day competition in sixth place, earning 281 points. On the men’s side, Pitt took 18th with 14 points, with a large contingent of the Pitt men also participating in the ACC Championships in Greensboro, N.C.
The Panthers will turn their attention to Atlanta as a select group of individuals will compete in the NCAA Championships. The diving team will also have the chance to qualify for NCAAs, taking part in the Zone Diving Championships in Annapolis, Md.
