Saint Michael's earned a day 1 lead at the North Country Invitational.
Saint Michael's Press Release
POTSDAM, N.Y. - Behind six event victories, including four from senior Lindsay McNall (Colchester, Vt./Colchester), the Saint Michael's College women's swimming & diving team had a 144-point lead after day one of the North Country Invitational on Friday at the State University of New York at Potsdam's Maxcy Hall Pool.
In their final meet of the first semester, the women totaled 340 points in a five-school field, with the hosts next at 196 points. Since attending the meet for the first time in 2012, the Purple Knight women have won once (2014), taken second twice (2012-13) and nabbed third last year when they were just four points short of the winner. The Saint Michael's men, last year's runner-up, are third out of six institutions, netting 153.5 points to edge the hosts by 1.5 and trail second-place Monroe Community College by 15.5. Day two begins tomorrow at 10 a.m.
McNall claimed the 200-yard backstroke (2:07.58) and 200-yard individual medley (2:18.36) - taking the 200 back race by 12.25 seconds - while leading off for the top 400-yard medley relay (4:13.22) and anchoring the winning 200-yard freestyle relay (1:46.07). In the 200 free relay, she helped her foursome win by 0.04 seconds thanks to concluding the race with a 25.13 50 free leg, which was 0.72 ticks better than that of SUNY Potsdam's runner-up quartet.
Junior Theresa Murphy (Pittsfield, Mass./Pittsfield), sophomore Patty Kohn (Weston, Conn./Greenwich) and first-year Lauren Giampietro (Watertown, Conn./Watertown) joined McNall on the 400 medley relay, while junior Ally Fischang (Oakland, Maine/Messalonskee), sophomore Tess Grimaldi (Higganum, Conn./Haddam-Killingworth) and first-year Sarah White (Lakeville, Mass./Apponequet Regional) swam during the 200 free relay. Kohn claimed the 1,650 free race (19:08.87), with first-year Sarah Brennan (Glen Rock, N.J./Immaculate Heart Academy) fourth, while Murphy topped the 100-yard butterfly field (1:02.69).
Giampietro was second in the 100-yard breaststroke and third in the 200 IM, coming within 0.13 seconds of the 200 IM runner-up. Junior Sammy Sidorakis (Baldwinsville, N.Y./C.W. Baker) was two spots shy of Giampietro in the 200 IM, nabbing fifth, while also taking third in the 200 back. Junior Genevieve Gigandet (Groveland, Mass./Central Catholic) took third in the three-meter dive, falling only 1.45 points shy of second place, while first-years Reiley Adelson (Saratoga Springs, N.Y./Saratoga Springs) and Megan Reid (Winchester, Mass./Winchester) went third and fifth, respectively, in the 500 free.
Five Purple Knights finished among the top nine during a tightly-grouped 50 free, with senior Katrina Wiesner (Bow, N.H./Bow) second at 26.75, White third in 26.86, and Grimaldi fourth at 26.92. Sophomore Elizabeth Doherty (Dedham, Mass./Dedham) tied for sixth in 27.02, and Fischang placed ninth at 27.12. White claimed third during the 100 fly, only 0.04 seconds ahead of the fourth-place Wiesner. Two relay teams placed fifth, with Doherty, Kohn, Wiesner and junior Coral Santos (Pawtucket, R.I./Saint Raphael Academy) combining during the 200 free, and Fischang, Santos, White and senior Cymantha Rogers (Swampscott, Mass./Swampscott) swimming the 400 medley.
On the men's side, sophomore Pat Thornton (Lawrenceville, N.J./Lawrence) won the 100 fly (55.62) and 500 free (5:04.39), taking the latter by 13.36 seconds. Thornton joined sophomore Seamus Butler (Waltham, Mass./Waltham) and first-years Connor Hopkins (Windham, N.H./Windham) and Aidan Mulderrig (Rockville Centre, N.Y./South Side) on the third-place 400 medley relay quartet.
Hopkins placed third in the 50 free, just 0.16 seconds shy of the winner, and senior Ryan Butler (Waltham, Mass./Waltham) was seventh. Seamus Butler finished 0.01 ticks out of the top 10. Mulderrig nabbed fifth in the 200 IM and sixth during the 200 back, and junior Spencer Ralston (Hebron, Conn./Cushing Academy) tied for fifth in the 500 free. Classmate Tim Kinville (Colchester, Vt./Missisquoi Valley Union) was seventh during the one-meter dive, and first-year Brian Cavanaugh (Fort Mill, S.C./Fort Mill) was seventh in the 100 breast, followed by Seamus Butler in ninth and junior Michael May (Wallingford, Conn./Lyman Hall) in 10th.
Senior Stephen Andersen (Concord, N.H./Concord) placed 10th during the 100 fly and joined Hopkins and the Butler brothers to take fourth during the 200 free relay.
