UMASS VS FAIRFIELD
- January 24, 2026
- Amherst, Mass.
- SCY (25 yards)
- Results
Courtesy: UMass Athletics
AMHERST, Mass. – The University of Massachusetts swimming and diving team took down Fairfield University in a dual meet at the Joseph R. Rogers Jr., Pool on Saturday afternoon on Senior Day. The women’s team won 176-124 over the Stags, while the men’s team came out on top 189-110.
Both the Minutewomen and Minutemen combined for 57 top-three finishes on the day, including 24 gold medals.
Freshman Hudson Bawduniak of the Minutemen posted the top mark in the 100 breaststroke in program history, as well as a Joseph R. Rogers Jr., Pool record.
Women’s Swimming & Diving
The Minutewomen totaled 28 top-three finishes on the day to go along, while collecting 11 gold medals.
Junior Ece Yildirim picked up the silver in the 1,00 freestyle with a personal-best time of 10:18.75. Yildirim’s time marked the eighth-best all-time record in program history.
In the 200 freestyle, junior Beren Cakiroglu sat atop the podium with a season-best time of 1:51.20. Fellow junior Diya Ackerman-Vallala swam a season-best time of 1:53.95 to finish third.
The 100 backstroke saw sophomore Maria Grishaeva swim into first with a time of 56.77. Junior Lindsay Burbage was second in the 100 breaststroke with a season-best time of 1:02.97, as freshman Kate Baranova followed in third with a time of 1:03.68.
Sophomore Hannah Schoenauer swam into second place with a season-best time of 2:06.43 in the 200 butterfly. Sophomore Courtney Tedesco touched the wall first in the 50 freestyle with a personal-best time of 23.39, which marked the sixth-best time in program history.
The Minutewomen swept the podium in the 100 freestyle, as Cakiroglu took first with a time of 51.32, Tedesco placed second with a time of 51.71 and sophomore Karinne Everly was third with a time of 52.34. Grishaeva grabbed the gold for the second time on the afternoon in the 200 backstroke with a time of 2:01.68, marking a personal-best and the third-best mark in program history. Junior Olga Stoura took third in the event with a time of 2:06.42.
In the 200 breaststroke, Burbage secured the gold with a season-best time of 2:18.42 , as sophomore Kendal Gilbert placed second with a personal-best time of 2:19.15. marking the seventh-best time in program history. Schoenauer finished second in the 500 freestyle with a time of 5:03.70.
Everly was second in the 100 butterfly with a time of 56.24. Grishaeva earned her third gold medal of the day with a time of 2:04.33 in the 200 individual medley, as Ackerman-Vallala took the silver with a time of 2:05.09. Ackerman-Vallala’s time moved her sixth in the all-time program records.
In the relays, the 200 medley relay team of Grishaeva, Baranova, Everly and Tedesco combined for a time of 1:44.03 to swim into first. Cakiroglu, Burbage, Schoenauer and Ackerman-Vallala took third in the event with a time of 1:45.67.
The 400 freestyle relay team of Tedesco, Schoenauer, Everly and Cakiroglu claimed first with a time of 3:27.31, while the team consisting of Baranova, Stoura, Burbage and Ackerman-Vallala took third in the event with a time of 3:33.63.
Men’s Swimming & Diving
The Minutemen tallied 29 top-three finishes, adding 13 gold medals on the day.
Junior Jude Boukarroum kicked off the individual events with a first-place finish in the 1,000 freestyle with a personal-best time of 9:32.89. Freshman Miles Smyczek was third with a season-best time of 9:41.46.
Senior Sammy Quigg grabbed the gold medal in the 200 freestyle with a season-best time of 1:38.41. Freshman Liam Hickey was second in the 100 backstroke with a time of 50.37, while junior Cole Brooks took third with a time of 50.54.
In the 100 breaststroke, Bawduniak swam the top all-time mark in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 54.38, which also marked a Joseph R. Rogers Jr., Pool record, to take home the gold medal. Sophomore Nate Derby was third with a time of 55.94.
Junior Aydin Erkan recorded a time of 1:50.41 in the 200 butterfly to claim the gold medal, as sophomore Liam Rayson placed third with a time of 1:54.30. The 50 freestyle saw Quigg pick up his second gold medal with a time of 20.59, while senior Aidan Shepston secured the silver with a time of 20.85.
Quigg earned his third gold medal after swimming a time of 44.93 in the 100 freestyle. Freshman Macek Vandermolen followed in second-place with a time of 45.42. Sophomore Chase Keeler finished the 200 backstroke with a time of 1:49.95 to garner the silver medal.
In the 200 breaststroke, freshman Eli Panachyda swam the fourth-best time in program history of 1:59.42 in the 200 breaststroke to sit atop the podium. Derby was third with a time of 2:03.78 in the event.
Boukarroum swam into third with a time of 4:42.01 in the 500 freestyle. Bawduniak was first in the 100 butterfly with a time of 49.32, followed by Erkan in second with a time of 50.22. In the 200 individual medley, Keeler took second with a time of 1:52.93 and Derby was third with a time of 1:54.61.
During the relay events, the team of Brooks, Bawduniak, Shepston and Vandermolen placed first with a time of 1:31.21 in the 200 medley relay. Hickey, freshman Chase Dai, Erkan and Derby took third in the event with a combined time of 1:33.71.
In the 400 freestyle relay, Shepston, junior Alonso Montori, Vandermolen and Quigg took first with a combined time of 3:00.51. The team of Brooks, Hickey, Rayson and sophomore Daniel Strumidlo placed third in the event with a time of 3:04.56.
On The Boards
The Minutewomen swept the podium in the three-meter dive, as sophomore Danielle Guerin placed first with a personal-best score of 284.48. Seniors Salem Howes (255.15) and Shreeya Sinha (235.20) took second and third, respectively, in the event.
Guerin grabbed the gold in the one-meter dive with a total of 279.75, while Howes earned the silver with a score of 255.08.
For the Minutemen, sophomore Alex Kreidler secured first-place with a six-dive total of 334.65 in the one-meter dive. Fellow classmate Gavin Buttram finished third with a score of 257.85 in the event.
Kreidler picked up the gold in the three-meter dive with a personal-best total of 391.65, which put him second in the all-time program records. Freshman Carson Harrington placed second with a score of 299.10 in the event.
Up Next
Both the men’s and women’s swim team travel to Bronx, New York, to take on Fordham on Saturday, Jan. 31, at 12 p.m., as the swimmer’s close out the regular season before conference championships.
Courtesy: Fairfield Athletics
AMHERST, Mass. – Natasha De Pree and Tone Sandsjo each set pool records while De Pree added a school standard to her performance as the Fairfield University swimming and diving programs dropped decisions to UMass. The men’s team fell by a 189-110 count while the women’s team was edged by a 176-124 score on Saturday.
De Pree’s record-setting day came in the 1000 freestyle in which she put up a time of 10:07.45 to set the two records while Sandsjo garnered a UMass pool record in the 100 breaststroke with her time of 1:02.21. The duo were part of nine first-place finish by the Stags with the women collecting five golds and the men garnering four top spots.
After De Pree and Sandsjo opened the meet with their wins, Max McMillan earned the men’s first gold with his performance in the 100 backstroke, clocking in at 50.34. Caroline Gray followed up with the best time in the 200 butterfly, finishing the event in 2:05.10.
Aidan Schnapf was next on the winner’s podium by taking the 200 backstroke event by touching the wall in 1:49.17. De Pree became the only Fairfield double winner on the day when she beat all of her competitors in the 500 freestyle (4:59.86).
Tim Regan and Jochi Nolla took the top two spots in the 500 freestyle by finishing in 4:36.36 and 4:37.52 respectively. Allie Bashor continued the Stags’ winning trend by picking up first-place in the 100 butterfly, taking the distance in 55.91.
Bobby Regan closed out the day for Fairfield by winning the 200 IM in the final individual event of the meet, finishing in 1:50.68.
Balasz had a solid day with a pair of runner-up performance, posting times of 55.22 in the 100 breaststroke and 1:59.64 in the 200 breaststroke.
The divers put forth top three performances in three of the four events. Lillian Tonole paced the women’s divers with a third-place performances in the 1 meter with 205.50 points and a fourth-place effort in the 3 meter with 234.00 points. Andrew Cataldo earned bronze in the 3 meter with 267.30 points and silver in the 1 meter with 272.63 points.
The Fairfield swimming and diving teams will take a short break from competition before returning to the pool for the 2026 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Championships which takes place from February 11-14 in Geneva, Ohio.
