2016 A-10 Men’s & Women’s Championships
- Wednesday, February 17- Saturday, February 20
- Geneva, Ohio- Spire Institute
- Defending Champs: Men-Massachusetts, Women-Richmond
- Championship Central
- Live Results
- Live Video
Women
Coming into the final day of competition, there were many close team battles throughout the women’s rankings. Richmond sat with a very comfortable 106 point lead, but Duqesne and Davidson were very tight for 2nd, and Massachusetts and Fordham were very close in the battle for 4th.
Elise Lankiewicz of Davidson continued her impressive showing here, winning the 1650 free in a time of 16:39.65. That gives Lankiewicz 5 gold medals in 6 events here in Geneva. She also won the 200 and 500 free individually, and was on the winning 800 free and 400 medley relays. She won silver on the 200 free relay as well. La Salle’s Emma Smith pulled in for 2nd with a time of 16:48.02, and Richmond freshman Nicole Piercy was 3rd in 16:56.17.
Lexi Santer of Duquesne defended her top seed from prelims winning the 200 back in at time of 1:58.00, just getting by Richmond’s Hannah Verrette and George Mason’s Steff Maurer. Verrette was 2nd in 1:58.59, and Maurer was 3rd in 1:58.67. The top-3 were the only swimmers who broke 2 minutes, and were all under the NCAA B standard of 1:59.19. Santer’s big win opened up a 22 point lead for Duqesne over Davidson in the battle for 2nd place.
Sam Ray and Gabrielle Sibilia continued Duquesne’s great finals session, going 1-2 in the 100 freestyle. Ray won in a time of 49.47, breaking the conference and meet record. The previous conference record belonged to Brooke Boncher from Richmond who went 49.79 in 2004, and the previous meet record belonged to Elise Lankiewicz of Davidson, who went 49.83 last year. Sibilia was 2nd in 50.10, and Chandler Lulley of Fordham was 3rd in 50.24. 50 free champ from earlier this meet Sydney Fisher was 4th in 50.49.
Davidson’s Katy Williams picked up her third gold medal of the meet, winning the 200 breast in a time of 2:12.65. She also won gold in the 100 breast and the 400 medley relay. Erin Barry of Richmond was 2nd in 2:13.56, and Sarah Brallier of George Mason was 3rd in 2:15.70. All three women were under the NCAA B standard of 2:15.99. Despite the win by Williams, Davidson still trailed Duquesne by 35 points through the 200 breast.
Fordham’s Megan Polaha picked up her second gold medal of the meet in the 200 fly, winning in a new conference record of 1:58.46. That swim eclipsed her own conference and meet record of 1:58.51 set in 2014, and just missed the pool record of 1:58.37. She was also victorious in the 200 IM earlier. Hannah Matheson of Richmond was 2nd in 2:00.81, and Tanja Kirmse of St.Bonaventure was 3rd in 2:00.86. Polaha was under the NCAA B cut of 1:59.59.
Irina Chiulli of Richmond won the 3-meter event with a score of 303.30, defeating Massachusetts’ Katie Polk who was 2nd with a score of 286.25. Polk’s teammates Emma Roush (266.85) and Julia Jagannath (262.95) were 3rd and 4th respectively.
Davidson finished off the meet with a win in the 400 free relay in a time of 3:19.65, taking out Duquesne who finished 2nd in 3:21.78. Davidson’s team of Kassie Shannon (50.82), Maggie Farrell (50.82), Elise Lankiewicz (48.49), and Angie Healy (49.52) broke their own conference and meet record of 3:20.35 that they set last year. All but Farrell were on that team. Duquesne’s Sam Ray got them out in the lead, as she led off in 49.88, but Davidson clawed their way back with the power of Lankiewicz’s fast 48.49 split. Richmond finished 3rd in 3:24.05, and George Mason was 4th in 3:24.25.
Richmond were the run away winners, winning their 5th straight conference title. The last team to win that wasn’t Richmond was Fordham in 2010, when they broke Richmond’s eight year win streak. Duqesne held off Davidson for second, and Massachusetts got by Fordham just barely for 4th. Rhode Island finished 7th in a very close battle with La Salle, George Washington, and St.Bonaventure.
Final Team Scores:
- University of Richmond 653.5
- Duqesne University 487
- Davidson College 466
- University of Massachusetts 397
- Fordham University 392
- George Mason University 345
- University of Rhode Island 204
- La Salle University 198
- George Washington University 197
- St.Bonaventure University 187
- Saint Louis University 172.5
Men
Heading into the final day, Massachusetts held onto an overwhelming lead for 1st in the team race with 472 points. St.Bonaventure and La Salle are locked in a very close battle for 2nd, separated by just 1.5 points, and Saint Louis and George Washington are very tight for 4th, with George Mason and Davidson not far behind.
Alessandro Bomprezzi picked up his third gold medal of the meet in the 1650, dominating the field winning in 15:15.61. He was a little less than 2 seconds off of his own conference and meet record he sets last year on his way to victory. Bomprezzi also won the 500 free and was the key anchor leg on Massachusetts winning 800 free relay. Mattias Glenesk of La Salle was 2nd in 15:27.00, and Bomprezzi’s Massachusetts teammate Kyle Vieira was 3rd in 15:38.66. Bomprezzi and Glenesk were both under the NCAA B standard of 15:30.39.
St.Bonaventure’s Michael Pilyugin took the men’s 200 back in a time of 1:42.96, his fourth gold of the meet. Earlier in the meet he won the 100 back, 50 free, and was on the winning 200 medley relay. 2nd place went to Luke Burton of Davidson, who was 1:43.76, and Fabian Bergman of La Salle was 3rd in 1:44.57. All three men were under the NCAA B cut.
Ryan McCoy of Saint Louis took the win in the 100 freestyle, touching the wall in a time of 44.18, just shy of his prelim time of 44.10. Brian Stiles of Massachusetts was good for silver with a time of 44.68, and Owen Wright of Massachusetts was 3rd in 45.04. McCoy got under the NCAA B cut of 44.29.
Johan Roth and Dimitrije Mladenovic made it a 1-2 finish for La Salle in the 200 breast, with Roth winning in 1:57.36 and Mladenovic 2nd in 1:59.24. Roth was just off his own conference and meet record of 1:57.12 he set last year. Austin Nguyenphu of Saint Louis was 3rd in 1:59.88. Roth and Mladenovic were both under the B standard of 1:59.79.
Steve Sholdra of Fordham won his second gold medal of the meet in the 200 fly, winning in a time of 1:47.10. That swim broke the conference and meet record of 1:47.36 previously held by Danny Camozzo from 2014. Sholdra won the 400 IM earlier. St.Bonaventure’s Michael White was 2nd in 1:47.89, getting under the B cut of 1:47.99. Oliver Keegan of George Washington picked up bronze in a time of 1:48.28. With only the 400 free relay remaining on the men’s side, St.Bonaventure held a 10.5 point lead over La Salle for 2nd, and Saint Louis had put themselves safely into 4th.
Saint Louis emerged victorious in the final event of the meet, winning the 400 free relay in a time of 2:59.00. They were closely followed by Massachusetts (2:59.58), George Mason (2:59.65), and George Washington (3:00.60). Davidson initially finished 4th in 2:59.68, but were disqualified for a false start on their third leg. Members of the winning team included Brendan Hulseman (44.98), Shane Cano (45.54), Ryan McCoy (43.61), and Nick Jessee (44.87). George Washington and Massachusetts led early, but McCoy’s 43.61 third leg vaulted Saint Louis in the lead and Jessee was able to hold off the competition for the win.
Massachusetts clinched their second straight conference victory with 671 points, well ahead of the rest of the field. 2013 & 2014 champion St.Bonaventure managed to pull off second place, edging out La Salle by 8.5 points. Saint Louis was 4th, and George Washington edged out George Mason by 2 points for 5th.
Final Team Scores:
- University of Massachusetts 671
- St.Bonaventure University 482
- La Salle University 473.5
- Saint Louis University 457.5
- George Washington 398
- George Mason University 396
- Davidson College 371
- Fordham University 165
