A total of 14 school records were broken this past weekend as the men’s and women’s swimming and diving team competed at the MAAC tournament held at Loyola College in Baltimore.
The new marks helped both teams perform well at the meet, as both squads finished in fifth. For the men, they finished one place lower than last year. The women maintained their 2002-03 season standing.
“We were hoping to hold our place from last year,” said Coach William Farley, currently in his first full season at the helm of the Stags. “We felt that if we could do that, that it would be a great accomplishment.”
While neither team improved upon its MAAC standings from last season, Farley looks upon the season as a success, witnessing vast improvement in the performances of his swimmers.
“It’s fantastic,” he said. “Last year we thought we had a real great championship meet when we came away with four school records. This time we came away with 14 total.”
On the women’s side, the Stags received a number of quality performances from Brittany Hunter and Kelly Steele, who not only set individual records of their own, but also teamed up in three relay events to set new records in each.
“The heart that Brittany showed was fantastic,” said Farley. “And Kelly, you put her in any relay and you’ll get something special.”
Bridget McKeon’s most significant race of the weekend occurred in the 400-yard individual medley, as her 15th place finish gave the Stags just enough for a fifth place team finish, beating Iona College by only one point.
“It was back and forth the entire meet and I knew there was a lot of pressure on me,” said McKeon. “It felt so good to score points and it felt so good to contribute to the team.”
For the men’s team, seniors Peter Loverme and Frank Vitulli pumped out key performances for the Stags. Loverme grabbed the team’s only MAAC championship title on the one-meter board and Vitulli set individual records in three different events.
“The record’s Frank has set this season are phenomenal and Pete’s diving has been fantastic,” said Farley.
Sean Killelea also performed well for the Stag’s, setting a new school record in the 400 Individual Medley.
“Coach worked us hard, so we knew there were records to be broken,” Killeleea said.
“These kids have done so much more than expected and they’ve really turned the program around,” said Farley. “This summer, I told myself if we could get 21 school records it would be a success. We’ve had 34 already. It’s been an amazing season.”
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