RIVERDALE, N.Y.- The first day of the 2011 MAAC Swimming & Diving Championships proved to be quite eventful for the Manhattan men's and women's swimming teams. Behind strong efforts from veterans and youth alike, the Jaspers broke six school records Wednesday night and have now qualified for several ECAC events.
"This was an absolutely fantastic first day," Coach Walter Olsewski said. "We had 24 swimmers record their personal best times, something we had never accomplished before. Several of our times have also qualified us for the ECAC Championships, a feat in itself."
On the men's side, the Kelly green and white came out ready to compete, recording "best times" in 14 out of 16 events and setting all-time marks in sprint, distance and relay competiton. In the 50-yard freestyle, sophomore Robert Varieur picked up a top time and received an "A" cut for the ECAC Championships with a final of 21.72. In the 200-yard IM, sophomore Cullen Balcanoff (2:04.53) and freshman Dennis Daly (2:03.57) both broke the previous school mark set in the event. Continuing to improve on his oustanding distance swimming, freshman PJ Sweeney snapped the previous mark in the 500-yard freestyle and received a "B" cut for the ECAC Championships after finishing with a time of 4:50.04.
Saving their best teamwork performance for the final competition, the 200-freestyle and 400-medley relay events were both worthy of ECAC qualification and new record placement. In the 200-yard freestyle, the foursome of Varieur, fellow classmates Michael Scire and Mickey Ruddy, and freshman Daly swam an impressive mark of 1:26.83. In the 400-yard medley, Varieur, and freshmen Fusco, Daly and Sweeney shattered the previous mark with a time of 3:35.14. Currently, Manhattan sits in ninth place in the MAAC standings with 38 points. Loyola leads all MAAC teams with 209.
For the women's team, the Lady Jaspers picked up best times in all 12 of their events. Junior Bridget Latino led the way with a strong effort in the 50-yard freestyle event, recording a time of 26.86. Highlighting the day, the 200-yard freestyle relay team, featuring Latino, sophomore Nadine Maher, and freshmen Vanessa L'Heureux and Melanie Tam swam a 1:42.64 to qualify for the ECAC Championships. Manhattan is currently in 10th place in the MAAC Standings with 32 points. Marist is ahead of the field with 247 points after the first day.
For live second day statistics, click here.
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