Fordham Earns First-Ever Sweep Over UMass As Men Pull Off Thrilling Comeback

by SwimSwam 0

January 29th, 2023 College, News, Previews & Recaps

Fordham vs UMass

  • Saturday, January 28, 2023
  • Amherst, Mass.
  • SCY (25 yards)
  • Results
  • Team Scores
    • Women: Fordham 164, UMass 136
    • Men: Fordham 148, UMass 145

Courtesy: Fordham Sports

Amherst, Mass. – (January 28, 2023) – In a spectacular finish, the Fordham swimming & diving team had an amazing afternoon, earning its first-ever dual meet sweep at Massachusetts, while setting eight pool records.

The Fordham women began things with a 164-136 victory over the Minutewomen, record six of the Rams’ eight pool records on the day.  Then, trailing by 20 points with three events remaining, the Fordham men rallied back for 148-145 win over Massachusetts.  This was the first-ever dual meet win for Fordham at UMass since joining the Atlantic 10 and only the second win overall (2017 – home).

The day began with Fordham sweeping the 200 medley relay events.  The women’s team of Leire MartinEmma ShaughnessyJessica Zebrowski and Megan Morris won the event in a pool record time of 1:45.89, while the men’s team of Christian TaylorParis RaptisNicholas Chao, and Taras Zherebetskyy won in a time of 1:32.28.

The Rams then began their individual wins with Clare Culver taking first in the 1000-yard freestyle in 10:28.90.

The next two wins came from the men, as Alex Wilhelm won the 200 freestyle event, as he clocked in with a time of 1:42.89, while Taylor won the 100 backstroke in 50.07 seconds.  Then it was back to the women’s wins in the 100 breaststroke, which saw Shaughnessy take first in a time of 1:04.85.

It was a Fordham sweep in the 200 butterfly, as Zebrowski posted a pool record winning time of 2:03.82, while Raptis grabbed first for the men in 1:50.93.  The duo later posted pool records in the 100 butterfly event, when Zebrowski went 55.85, while Raptis went 48.50.

Chao then capped the first half of the meet with the top time in the 50 freestyle event in 21.08 seconds, while Zherebetskyy opened the second half by winning the 100 freestyle in 45.83 seconds.

Up next, it was two more pool records for the Rams, where L. Martin posted a winning time of 2:01.80 in the 200 backstroke, while A. Martin did the same in the 200 breaststroke in 2:16.34.

Millie Haffety then chimed in by winning the three-meter diving event with a score of 298.95, after finishing second in the one-meter event (256.20).

The meet came down to the final two events, where Fordham started with wins in both editions of the 200 individual medley.  A. Martin posted her second pool record of the day in 2:03.89 to secure the women’s team win, while Wilhelm earned his second win in 1:53.24, giving the men a shot for the team victory.

In the final event, Fordham’s top men’s relay of Raptis, Taylor, Chao, and Zherebetskyy won the event in a pool record time of 1:23.14, but just as important was the Rams’ “B” relay of Taz KanjanakasetAlexander ShahMichael Biryukov, and Vitalis Onu, which grabbed third in 1:25.02, snaring the final two points to clinch the meet win for the men.

The Rams will wrap up their regular season meet schedule on Wednesday, February 1st, with a tri-meet against Wagner and St. Francis Brooklyn, beginning at 5:00 PM.

RAMSES CHALLENGE: As a part of a new fundraising challenge this season, fans can pledge support for the team in the Ramses Challenge for each event the swimming & diving team wins this season.  Following today’s meet, the count is up to 151.  Be a part of the challenge by clicking here.

Courtesy: UMass Athletics

AMHERST, Mass. – University of Massachusetts men’s and women’s swimming and diving fell to the Fordham Rams at Saturday’s final regular season meet of the 2022-23 campaign.

On The Podium
For the women, Shreeya Sinha scored 243.45 in the 3-meter dive to take third place on the day. The 200-yard medley relay team consisting of Megan MitchellMaggie DesmondSummer Pierce, and Caroline Mahoney captured second place in 1:45.98, while the team consisting of Bri WilliamsOlivia MozokiAshley Calderon, and Kirsten Ardis took third in 1:48.60. Anna Kwon was the third swimmer to finish the 200-yard freestyle race, recording a time of 1:55.30. In the 200-yard butterfly, Beatriz Olivieri finished in second place (2:04.69), while Pierce followed in third place (2:05.85). Pierce also recorded a podium finish in the 100-yard butterfly, swimming to third place in 57.96. Ardis joined the Minutewomen on the podium with her third-place 50-yard freestyle finish of 24.94 seconds. Desmond took second place in the 100-yard freestyle in 52.78 seconds, as well as third place in the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:06.64. Mozoki earned a third-place finish in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:26.98), while M. Mitchell captured second place in the 200-yard backstroke (2:02.23). The Minutewomen 200-yard freestyle relay team of Katie Mitchell, M. Mitchell, Williams, and McKenna Johnson swam a 1:40.72 in the event, good for third place. Calderon was the runner-up in the 100-yard butterfly in 57.25, while Bella Snyder took third in the 1,000-yard freestyle in 10:47.95.

For the men, Tommy Cotner recorded two runner-up finishes in the dives, recording a 300.68 in the 3-meter dive and a 317.25 in the 1-meter dive. Cotner’s 3-meter dive score makes him No. 7 all-time in program history in the event. In the 200-yard medley relay, the team consisting of Jamie MacDonaldJack ArtisGrant Beebe, and Sammy Quigg swam a 1:32.83, good for second place. The relay team of Noah WittFreddie BorgCharles Blanc, and Juan Montori finished closely behind in third place, swimming the event in 1:35.71. Beebe recorded another podium finish on the day, taking third place in the 100-yard butterfly in 51.77 seconds. MacDonald took two second place finishes in both the 200-yard IM (1:54.30) and the 200-yard butterfly (1:53.88). Sam Haddad raced to third in the 200-yard IM in 1:56.36. Beau Bengston captured second place in the 100-yard backstroke, swimming the event in 52.51 seconds. Borg was the runner-up in the 100-yard breaststroke on the day, recording a time of 58.64 seconds. Quigg also recorded a pair of runner-up finishes in the 50-yard freestyle (21.25) and the 100-yard freestyle (46.89). Artis took second place in the 200-yard breaststroke in 2:09.49. Eric Eastham and Emerson Kiefer placed second and third in the 200-yard freestyle, clocking in at 1:42.91 and 1:42.99, respectively. In the 500-yard freestyle, Colby Vieira took second place (4:48.84) and Tyler Roethke (4:49.95) captured third place to complete the podium sweep for the event in combination with Kiefer’s winning of the event. The 200-yard freestyle relay team of Beebe, Montori, Blanc, and Quigg were the runners-up in the event, clocking a time of 1:24.86.

Top Finishes
Emma Petrovich was victorious in the 1-meter dive, recording a score of 264.45. Olivieri recorded two first-place, season-best finishes in both the 200-yard freestyle (1:52.51) and the 500-yard freestyle (5:02.92). Mahoney also took first in both the 50-yard freestyle (24.07) and 100-yard freestyle (52.00) on the day. M. Mitchell was the winner of the 100-yard backstroke race, swimming a time of 57.01. The 200-yard freestyle relay team of Desmond, Calderon, Ardis, and Mahoney swam to first place in 1:35.87.

Andrew Bell swept the 1-meter and 3-meter dives on the weekend, recording personal best scores in both events. Bell scored a 364.73 in the 3-meter dive, good for the top score in the conference and a bettered No. 2 all-time record in program history, as well as a 331.80 in the 1-meter dive, good for a bettered No. 3 all-time record in program history. Jake Bailey was victorious in the 1,000-yard freestyle with a time of 9:52.44. Artis was victorious in the 100-yard breaststroke in 57.80 seconds. In the 200-yard backstroke, Eastham raced to first in 1:52.88. Sam Haddad won the 200-yard breaststroke in 2:08.53, while Kiefer captured first in the 500-yard freestyle in 4:45.82.

Team Results
The Minutemen were narrowly defeated by the Rams by a score of 148 to 145, while the Minutewomen fell to the Rams by a score of 164 to 136.

Next Up
Massachusetts returns to the pool for the final time this season on Feb. 15-18 as they head to Geneva, Ohio for the Atlantic 10 Championship held at the SPIRE Institute.

For complete coverage of the Massachusetts men’s and women’s swimming and diving team, follow the Minutemen and Minutewomen on Twitter and Instagram at @UMassSwimDive and on Facebook at @UMassSwimmingDiving.

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