The Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) opened the 2017 ECAC Men’s & Women’s Open Swimming and Diving Championships at the United States Naval Academy on Friday. After the first day of competition, Navy holds the lead on both the men's and women's side.
University of Pennsylvania and Bucknell University sit in second and third place in the women's team standings, while Binghamton University and UPenn occupy second and third on the men's side, respectively.
After the completion of preliminary heats in the morning, the meet opened with the Women's 3-Meter and the Men's 1-Meter Dives. Megan Berardelli of Marist College captured the gold medal in the women's event, totaling 278.00 to finish ahead of Loyola University’s Lindsey Staszewski (246.00) and Lauren Katz (244.45) from Marist.
Marist took the top spot in the Men's 1-Meter, led by Peter Gallino’s gold-medal score of 323.35. Binghamton’s Ryan O’Connell took second with a mark of 269.45, while Raislan Aiken of Marist finished in third (259.85).
Penn took the top spot in the Women's 200 Freestyle Relay with a time of 1:33.71. Columbia University finished in second with a combined time of 1:34.31, with Navy taking bronze (1:34.53).
Penn claimed the win in the Men's 200 Freestyle Relay. The Quakers finished with a total time of 1:21.00, besting Navy (1:22.28) and Rider University (1:22.45).
In the Men’s and Women’s 500 Freestyle, Jessie Gvozdas from the University of Virginia claimed the top spot in the women’s race, touching the wall in 4:51.88 to capture gold in the event. Erin Jordan (4:52.24) from Navy claimed silver, while teammate Stephanie Downing received bronze (4:53.91).
Virginia’s Omer Tara won the men’s 500 with a mark of 4:24.59 finishing ahead of teammate Jason Quinn (4:25.37) and Rider University’s Sam Cramer (4:28.98).
The evening continued with Virginia’s Mary Pelton finishing in first place in the women’s 200 IM with a 2:02.38 posting, followed by Navy teammates Alex Bonfilio (2:03.99) and McKenna Resconich (2:04.11).
Navy’s Hayes McCullagh mark of 1:47.15 was enough to claim gold in a close men’s 200 IM race. The silver medalist Nikola Trajkovic from UMBC recorded a time of 1:48.24 with Virginia’s Brandon Goldstien right behind him (1:48.38).
In the tightly contested Men’s and Women’s 50 Yard Freestyle, Zach Fisher from Penn claimed the top spot in the men’s race with a mark of 20.21 besting UMBC teammates Gregor Spoerlein (20.28) and Ilia Rattsev (20.29).
The gold medal went to Virginia’s Dina Rommel (22.65) who won the women’s 50 while Penn’s Kimberly Phan (23.37) was awarded silver and Bucknell’s Rachel Perry received bronze.
The opening day ended with the Men's and Women's 400 Medley Relay. Navy women’s swim team finished first with a total time of 3:47.89, besting Penn (3:48.37) and Columbia (3:51.16). On the men’s side, Navy (3:17.91) finished in the top spot while Columbia finished in second with a mark of 3:18.33 while Emmanuel College delegation touched the wall in third (3:18.77).
The 2017 ECAC Men’s & Women’s Open Swimming and Diving Championships continue tomorrow, beginning with the Women's 200 Medley Relay at 10 a.m.
The ECAC is proud to announce its partnership with the NCAA and U.S. Paralympics to present the 2017 Intercollegiate Para Swimming Championships to be held tomorrow in conjunction with the ECAC Open Swimming and Diving Championship at the U.S. Naval Academy.
In 2016 the ECAC introduced Para sport opportunities through its demonstration events at the ECAC Open Swimming & Diving Championship and ECAC Outdoor Track & Field Championship. Through a collaborative effort with the NCAA and U.S. Paralympics, the three organizations intend to increase competitive opportunities at the collegiate level for student-athletes with physical and visual impairments.
“The ECAC is thrilled to be partnering with the U.S. Paralympics and the NCAA in conducting this important event,” said ECAC President and CEO Dan Coonan. “We are proud of our role at the forefront of providing opportunities for student-athletes to compete in Para sports. We hope this event helps generate additional attention and support for these participants and this field.”
There were 79 NCAA institutions that had student-athletes that compete on the 2016 U.S. Paralympic team. Given the growth in adaptive sport opportunities at NCAA institutions, there is a desire to increase opportunities for such institutions to engage in collegiate Para sport competitions.
The 2016 U.S. Paralympic team featured student-athletes from 79 NCAA institutions, signaling a growing need for increased participation opportunities for collegiate Paralympic student-athletes.
The events in the 2017 Intercollegiate Para Swimming Championships will consist of the 100-yard freestyle and 100-yard backstroke.
