The Fairfield University men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams competed in their first dual meet of the season on Saturday, Nov. 5 against Marist College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., with both teams falling short in the process.
The men’s team lost in a heartbreaker, narrowly falling short, 150.5-147.5 according to their official season schedule. On a positive note, the men’s team took home five first place finishes. Leading the way for the men’s side was Chris Ford ‘23, who captured first-place swims in both breaststroke events. The Middlebury, Conn. native finished with a time of 58.50 in the 100-meter back while following up by completing a time of 2:08.99 in the 200-meter back.
The men’s team dominated in the 200-meter freestyle event, as Tim Regan ‘26 and graduate student Peter Gori posted strong times as the Stags swept the event with respective times of 1:43.96 and 1:45.60. Hans Tristan Lim ‘24 was the other first-place finisher during the meet for the Stags, competing in the 100 meter fly and hitting the back wall with a time of a time of 52.58.
Furthermore, the men’s 400 medley relay finished in first off of the crucial efforts of Lim, Oliver McLaughlin ‘26, graduate student Evan Fair and Alexey Belfer ‘24, posting a combined time of 2:14.65.
The men’s divers put on a solid performance as well. Samuel Tonole ‘23 and Noah Duncan ‘25 led the way for the group, each posting second-place finishes in their respective matches. Tonole finished with 205.73 points through his rotation, just over a point off from the winning point total of 207 points. Duncan, a Cheshire, Conn., native, posted 206.70 points in the three meter dive, trailing the top point total of 217.58.
The women’s side also fell short, taking the loss by a 176-124 margin. The women’s side did, however, take home four first-place finishes. Erini Pappas ‘25 proved victorious in two events, taking the stop in both the 100 meter backstroke and 200 meter backstroke, posting corresponding times of 58.50 and 2:07.41. The 200 meter free relay secured a top-place finish as they combined for a time of 1:38.81. The team consisted of Pappas, Olivia Thompson ‘25, Sydney Scalise ‘25 and Serafina Viola ‘24, with the quartet capping off an impressive performance.
In addition, the women’s diving team was led by the strong performance of Alexis Gaulin ‘24, who finished in first place in the one meter dive, registering 216 points. She later participated in the three meter dive to finish in second, posting 211.35 points, six points behind the first-place total.
After a near two-week hiatus from competition, the Stags will travel to Boston, Mass. to take part in the Terrier Invitational hosted by Boston University, a three-day tournament that will commence on November 18 and conclude on November 20. Afterwards, they will return to campus to prepare for the US Open, a four-day tournament that will take place from November 30 until December 3 in Greensboro, N.C.
For more information on the Fairfield men’s and women’s diving teams, as well as Fairfield athletics as a whole, please visit www.fairfieldstags.com for more news, information and updates.
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