Zack Molloy Goes Off on Day 2 of 2018 MAAC Championships

2018 MAAC MEN’S AND WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Wednesday-Saturday, February 14th-17th
• Burt Flickinger Athletic Center , Buffalo, NY
• Short course yards
• Championship Central
• Live Results
• Day 1 results
• Day 2 results
• Day 3 results

When now-senior Zack Molloy signed with Rider University, he was one of the biggest signings in program history. He’s validated that status throughout the course of his career, but on Thursday he might have cemented it with an explosive 2nd night of racing at the 2018 MAAC Championships.

Molloy won the 50 free in a MAC Record 19.66 and later split sub-19 seconds to lead Rider’s 200 free relay to a new conference record as well in 1:20.06. The Rider men have now broken 4 Conference Records in 6 swimming finals so far at the meet. After his individual win (he was the only swimmer under 20), he combined with Vincent Gibbons (20.31), Luke Musselman (20.35), and Maclej Paz (20.42), with an 18.98 Molloy anchor, for a 1:20.06.

Meanwhile, Fairfield University continued a huge meet on the women’s side of the pool, which they opened with a 1-2-4 finish in the 500 free. That included a 4:55.97 from freshman Sara Ostensen to win and a 4:57.14 from another freshman Sarah Herbold in 2nd. Ostensen’s winning time was 5 seconds faster than the winning time from last year’s meet.

Fairfield won 2 off the 4 swimming events of the day, thanks largely to their incredible freshman class. Another rookie, Maria Nitti, won the women’s 50 free in 23.50.

After breaking 2 conference relay records on Wednesday, Fairfield was just 6th in the 200 free relay at the end of the session with 3 freshman (Nitti was just 24.11 in the relay). That left Canisius with the win in a come-from-behind win over Marist. Canisius senior Rebecca Anthone led all swimmers with a 23.06 split on their anchor to make up more than half-a-second deficit to Marist when she left the block.

Other Day 1 Winners:

• Marist sophomore Michael O’Donovan won the men’s 500 free in 4:28.41. He turned dead-even with his teammate (and classmate) Evan Nilsson, but a 26.55 final 50 for Donovan pulled him away from the 27.45 closer by Nilsson, who finished 2nd in 4:29.35. That race was big points by Marist, with 3 swimmers in the top 6, while Rider only picked up a single point.
• Rider junior Luke Musselman won the men’s 200 IM in 1:48.33 with another come-from-behind win (he was 3rd going into the freestyle leg). Both he and runner-up Ben Schulte swam NCAA Consideration Times, though neither is likely to earn an invite.
• Iona senior Elizabeth Kaczmarek won the women’s 200 IM in 2:06.76, followed by Marist freshman Georgeanne Zimmerman in 2:06.83.
• Canisius finished 1-2 in the men’s diving, with Travis Wright winning by almost 50 points with a score of 370.15.

Men’s Team Scores After Day 2:

1. Rider – 241
2. Marist – 238
3. Canisius – 191.5
4. Bryant – 191
5. Iona – 141.5
6. Saint Peter’s – 114
7. (TIE) Fairfield/Manhattan – 80
9. Niagara – 65
10. Monmouth – 62

Women’s Team Scores After Day 2:

1. Marist – 259
2. Fairfield – 237
3. Canisius – 197
4. Iona – 169
5. Rider – 163
6. Niagara – 126
7. Monmouth – 82
8. Siena – 78
9. Manhattan – 71
10. Saint Peter’s – 42