Monmouth vs Fairfield
- Saturday, October 16, 2021
- West Long Branch, NJ
- Results
Courtesy: Monmouth Athletics
FINAL RESULTS
MEN
Monmouth 160
Fairfield 102
WOMEN
Fairfield 136
Monmouth 126
WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ – The Monmouth University men’s and women’s swimming teams opened their 2021-22 season against Fairfield on Saturday afternoon at Steadman Natatorium.
The men won by a 160-102 final score, while the women’s team lost by a narrow 10-point margin.
Freshman Georgia Watkins broke two school records in her collegiate debut, while Callan Smith won three individual races to lead the men’s side to victory.
NOTES & QUOTES
“I think the big thing was that it was an exciting day for the swimming program to have fans back in the stands and to compete against a conference opponent and a strong opponent like Fairfield.”
“The women took the defending conference champions down to the final relay and the men made a good statement of where we want to be in the conference and where we expect to be at the end of the season.”
“I thought the team did a really good job in terms of its energy, mindset and approach. There was a lot of enthusiasm and excitement and today is definitely something to build on as we move forward.”
– Monmouth head coach Matt Nunnally
– Georgia Watkins broke the Monmouth school record in the 1000 free and the 200 fly.
– Watkins’ time of 10:49.07 set a new Monmouth record in the 1000-yard freestyle. It was four seconds faster than the previous school record set by Krysta Garcia in 2018.
– Watkins also set the 200 fly record with a time of 2:07.93. Cheryl Goerke’s 2:08.62 was set in 1978 and stood for more than 40 years.
– Callan Smith led the men’s team with three first-place finishes in the 100 back (50.60), 200 back (1:52.32) and 100 fly (52.07). Smith increased his career victories total to 58.
– Alexandra Ho touched the wall first in the 50 free (24.44) and 100 free (53.69). Ho now has 18 career first-place times.
– Sam Poching, Camryn McHugh, Thomas From, Dylan Edge, Sean Cook and Cole Dyson each collected individual wins in the meet.
– McHugh has 41 individual wins in her career after winning the 100 fly in 59.21.
– Edge won the 14th race of his career. Edge won the 200 fly in 1:55.37.
– From clocked in at 47.64 in the 100 free for his seventh career win.
– Cook’s win in the 100 breast (59.19) was his second career triumph.
– Dyson won the 200 free for his second career win after hitting the wall in 1:44.81.
– Poching’s win in the 200 IM (1:55.86) came in his collegiate debut.
– Monmouth’s women won the 200-yard medley relay as Camryn McHugh, Alexa Houseknecht, Jensen Ritter and Alexandra Ho combined to win the race in 1:49.19.
– Monmouth’s men won the 400-yard freestlye relay with a time of 3:14.10 as Cole Dyson, Thomas From, Blake Reynolds and Sam Poching teamed up for the victory.
– Alexa Houseknecht, Jensen Ritter, Ashley Jean, Gracie Preslar, Corinne Pepper and Georgia Watkins all made their college debuts for the women’s team.
– Dean Beyer, Duncan Collins, Noah Ferker, Leo Fricker and Sam Poching swam for the men’s team for the first time.
UP NEXT
Monmouth travels to New York City on October 22 for a dual meet against Fordham. The Hawks and Rams are scheduled to compete at 4 p.m.
Courtesy: Fairfield Athletics
WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. – In the first dual meet of the season, the Fairfield University women’s swimming team posted a victory over Monmouth University (136-126) while the men’s swimming team came up short against the Hawks (160-102).
Erini Pappas won three events to pace the Stags while teammates Alison Sposili and Sydney Scalise each earned a pair of victories. On the men’s side, Joseph Stewart was a double winner with Alex Belfer and Jeff Vlass also touching the wall first. The men’s 200 medley relay and the women’s 400 free medley relay also took the top spot in those events.
“Today featured an extremely competitive meet with Monmouth with races coming down to the touch,” Head Coach Anthony Bruno said. “Both teams had individuals win multiple events and relays. And many swimmers achieved in-season best times.”
Pappas’s triple win started with the 100 back when she finished the race with a time of 50.32, and followed up with firsts in the 200 back (2:04.48) and the 200 IM (2:09.38). Sposili held the top spot in the 100 breast and the 200 breast with times of 1:09.33 and 2:27.72 respectively. Scalise made the most of her races, winning the 200 free in 1:55.98 and the 500 free in 5:11.81.
Stewart was successful in the 1000 free as he finished the course with a time of 9:45.21 as well as the 500 free with a time of 4:45.52. Belfer completed the 50 free in 21.39 to take another first for the Fairfield men while Vlass did the same in the 200 breast (2:13.20).
The men’s 200 medley relay beat all other entries (1:35.65) behind the efforts of Will Robinson, Chris Ford, Evan Fair, and Peter Gori. The women’s 400 free relay also was a first-place finisher by combining for a time of 3:40.88 and was comprised by Sydney Scalise, Olivia Thompson, Maggie O’Donnell, and Ameila Sicignano.
Several Stags also moved into the program’s top 10 all-time performances list led by Pappas in the 200 back (3rd), 200 IM (6th), and 100 back (6th). Scalise also placed twice on the lists, moving into 10th for the 100 free and ninth for the 200 free. Sposili also garnered the sixth slot on the 200 breast performance list.
For the men, Stewart’s time in the 1000 free qualified as the 6th best time for the Stags while Ed Hunt’s 200 fly time of 1:57.36 took him to the 10th spot on the Fairfield list.
The Fairfield University men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams will compete during the weekend of October 29-30. The Stags will travel to the College of the Holy Cross on the 29th before returning home for a meet with Providence College on the 30th.
