The Fairfield University men’s and women’s swim and dive teams took to East Meadow, NY on Friday, Dec. 6 to compete in the weekend long Eastern College Athletic Conference championship tournament. The women’s team put on an incredible performance, taking home their second ECAC championship title in two years, while the men’s team finished in second place.
On the women’s side, the team stood tall on the podium with a winning total of 1,835 points. They successfully fended off Long Island University who trailed behind in second with 1,454 points. The third place finishers were Monmouth University who amassed 1,094 points and St. Francis College managed to put themselves on the board with 1,067 points.
The Fairfield women’s first win of the meet was in the 200 Yard Medley Relay comprised of Alexandra Miko-Rydzag ‘23, Colleen Young ‘20, Morgan Hansen ‘21 and Maria Nitti ‘21 who finished with a time of 2:05.14. Nitti put on a stellar individual performance in the 50 Yard Freestyle, setting a new program record time of 23.49. She also excelled in the 100 Yard Freestyle (51.43) and 200 Yard Freestyle (1:52.91), finishing in second place and third place respectively. Hansen claimed second in both the 100 Yard Butterfly (55.48) and the 200 Yard Butterfly (2:05.20). Sara Ostensen ‘21 took home a victory in the 200 Yard Butterfly (2:05.14), finished in second place in the 500 Yard Freestyle with a finishing time of 5:01.38 and came in third in the 1650 Yard Freestyle, stopping the clock at 17:15.97.
The Stags showed strength in numbers when Samantha D’Alessandro ‘22, Emily Holman ‘20, Ostensen and Nitti won the 200 Yard Freestyle Relay in 1:36.26. Additionally, they set a new ECAC record in the 400 Yard Medley Relay when Miko-Rydzaj, Victoria Krivitsky ‘21, Hansen and Nitti recorded a time of 3:50.19. Second place accolades were earned by Rachel Landry ‘21, Nitti, Hansen and Ostensen in the 800 Yard Freestyle Relay (7:37.33) as well as in the 400 Yard Freestyle Relay (3:30.18) made up of D’Alessandro, Hansen, Ostensen and Nitti.
Over on the diving platform, Caitlin Campbell ‘22 earned 196 points in fifth place for the 1 Meter Diving while her teammate Erin Wind ‘22 proceeded in fifth place with a score of 190.95 in the 3 Meter Diving Category.
The men were edged by The New Jersey Institute of Technology when they earned their second straight ECAC title with 2,038.50 points which blew Fairfield’s 1,802 out of the water. On the Stags’ coattails was Monmouth University who collected 1,614 points, and finally St. Francis College who clinched the fourth spot with 1,110 points tallied.
Sophomore Evan Fair was unstoppable in the pool, with a pair of first-place finishes in the 200 Yard Individual Medley (1:54.14) and again in the 400 Yard Individual medley (4:02.80). Fair’s performance was instrumental in the relays, as he swam with Benjamin Kebbell ‘21, Jordan Rahurahu ‘20 and Peter Gori ‘22 in the 800 Yard Freestyle Relay (6:53.09) to finish in third and then once more with Erik Hren ‘23, Kebbell and Gori in the 400 Yard Freestyle Relay (3:27.08) where they placed fourth, establishing a new school record. Rookie Will Robinson finished in third place in the 100 Yard Backstroke with a time of 51.47. Rahurahu shone on his own in the 100 Yard Butterfly (50.70) and then in the 500 Yard Freestyle (4:41.10), where he placed third and fourth in that order.
Fairfield Men’s Diving received recognition by the ECAC. First year Samuel Tonole was named the Men’s Diver of the Meet ensuing a winning final score of 234.55 in the 1 Meter Diving category. He also secured second place in the 3 Meter Diving, registering 209.35 points. Head diving coach Devon O’Nalty, who is new to Stag Country this season, earned praise as the Men;s Diving Coach of the Meet.
Competition is slated to continue at the Recplex Pool on Friday, Jan. 3 against St. Peter’s University.
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