Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Championships – Men and Women
- Wednesday, February 13 – Saturday, February 16
- Erie Community College, Buffalo, NY (Eastern Time Zone)
- Defending Champion: Rider men (7x) & Fairfield women (1x) (Results: 1, 2, 3, 4)
- Live results
- Live Video
- Championship Central
- Day 1 Recap
The first full day of the 2019 MAAC Championships featured the Fairfield women and the Rider men trying to extend their leads as they defend last season’s team titles, with the Rider men going for their 8th-straight win. Both teams held their lead, although at the end of the day’s action, Fairfield holds a 55 point lead over Rider on the women’s side, while the Rider men only have a 22 point margin over Bryant.
Women’s Day 2 Recap
Fairfield sophomore Sara Ostensen got the Day 2 finals going by defending her title in the 500 free, finishing just over a second faster than her time from last year, 4:55.97 to 4:54.83. (Note: the live results show her time from last year’s prelims as the 2018 winning time). Ostensen led a Fairfield sweep of the top 3 spots, with Shannon Feeley (4:58.45) and Sarah Herbold (4:59.69) finishing 2nd and 3rd.
It was a closer race in the 200 IM, where Morgan Hansen and Colleen Young, both Fairfield swimmers, swam two very different races. Hansen jumped out to two second lead after the first 100, but Young moved ahead with the only sub-35 breaststroke split in the field. Hansen had enough left in the tank to drop a 29.96 split to Young’s 30.44, ultimately taking the win in 2:05.51 to 2:05.70. Last season Young finished 3rd and Hansen 4th, both with 2:07s.
Yet another Fairfield sophomore won the 3rd individual event, the 50 free, as Maria Nitti won in 23.60, a tenth of a second off her winning time from last year. There was a little more variety in the top few spots in this event, with Iona’s Aly Chain (23.85) and Monmouth’s Bradie Keelen (23.92) taking 2nd and 3rd.
Rider finally broke Fairfield’s stranglehold on the top of the podium with a 1:35.82 victory in the 200 free. Olivia Iswalt led off in 24.43, the 3rd-fastest lead off time in the field, followed by Maeve Lersch (24.02), Jess Homitz (23.68), and Victoria Evans (23.69).
Chain split 23.53 to anchor Iona’s relay to a 2nd-place finish, with a time of 1:36.10, while Fairfield settled for 3rd (1:36.47).
Scores Though Day 2:
1. Fairfield University 279
2. Rider University 224
3. Marist College Swimming/Diving 220
4. Canisius College 160
5. Iona College 140
6. Niagara University 127
7. Monmouth University 99
8. Siena College 73
9. Saint Peter’s University 50
10. Manhattan College 37
Men’s Day 2 Recap
Monmouth freshman Callan Smith made the most of his opportunity for an A final swim. Whether by accident or design, Smith was over four seconds off his seed time in this morning’s prelims, just getting into the top eight with a 4:36.92. Tonight, he knocked almost nine seconds off his prelims time, and over four seconds off his seed time, to win in 4:28.14. It was a tight race for the top three spots, as Smith, Marist junior Michael O’Donovan (last year’s winner), and Fairfield’s Evan Fair were separated by just 0.35s with 100 yards to go. Smith had the fastest split in each of the final two 50s to move solidly ahead of the other two, while O’Donovan just touched out Fair for 3rd, 4:28.61 to 4:28.67.
It wasn’t as close in the 200 IM, where Bryant senior Micah Orenalas led from start to finish, winning in 1:46.58. That time broke a seven year-old meet record, with the previous mark standing at 1:47.56. Rider senior Luke Musselman took 2nd in 1:47.59, over seven-tenths faster than he was last year when won this event.
In the 50 free, Rider senior Vincent Gibbons was the only man to crack 20 seconds in the field, winning in 19.82 after taking 2nd in 20.11 last year. 2nd place went to Marist senior Daniel Knoll, who also saw a slight improvement, touching in 20.27 after going 20.44 in a 3rd-place effort.
Rider brought back half of last year’s winning 200 free relay, and defended their title in the event. Gibbons led off in 19.76, Musselman followed with a 20.19 split, and Daniel Bonge (20.10) and Jack Ruggieri (20.36), the two new additions to the squad, held Bryant at bay, as Rider won 1:20.41 to 1:21.56.
Scores Through Day 2:
1. Rider University 252
2. Bryant University 230
3. Marist College Swimming/Diving 190.5
4. Iona College 163
5. Canisius College 129
6. Monmouth University 110
6. Niagara University 110
8. Fairfield University 99.5
9. Saint Peter’s University 92
10. Manhattan College 48
