BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The Fairfield University men's and women's swimming and diving teams finished the third day of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Championships in second place. The women's team raised its point total to 425 points which is just 6.5 points off Niagara University's score of 431.5. The men's team nearly doubled its point total from the first two days, ending this evening with 425 points which trails only Rider University's 473 points.

The day started with the 100 fly with the women placing two in the top 16 and the men garnering one spot in the event. Ameila Sicignano collected eighth place by registering a time of 57.38 while Maggie O'Donnell netted 15th place by touching the wall in 58.48. Evan Fair was the lone men's swimmer to earn points when he took ninth place with his time of 49.53.

Fairfield placed six student-athletes in the top 16 of the 400 IM with Erini Pappas setting the pace with her winning time of 4:26.02, one day after taking the gold in the 200 IM. Erin Hoyland earned the fourth spot in the rankings with her time of 4:31.63, followed by Shannon Feeley (9th in 4:35.43), Gabriella Tejada (10th in 4:36.22), Laina Bayles (13th in 4:47.14), and Julia Courtney (15th in 4:50.41). The men also saw a gold medal in the event as Ed Hunt secured the top spot with his time of 3:55.57. Jeffrey Vlass took the 12th place slot by completing the distance in 4:07.67 while Hans Lim registered 14th place by covering the 400 in 4:09.75.

In the 200 free, two Fairfield student-athletes scored with Joseph Stewart being the program's top finisher with his third-place swim in 1:39.16. Peter Gori also grabbed a top 10 finish by covering the yardage in 1:40.72 for seventh place. Serafina Viola was the women's top finisher with her ninth-place showing (1:53.53) followed by Lily Barker's 10th-place mark of 1:54.82.

The 100 breast was next on the docket with the men earning two of the top three spots in the event. Peter Sloan recorded a time of 54.79 which was second in the standings with Chris Ford taking third after ending the race in 55.34. Jack Shashaty and Jeffrey Vlass also scored in the event with the duo taking 12th (57.00) and 15th (57.70) respectively. For the women, Maddie Mowad (5th in 1:05.82), Alison Sposili (9th in 1:05.97), and Alexandra Mika-Rydzaj (12th in 1:07.26) represented the Stags in the final.

The 100 back was the final individual swimming event with Will Robinson taking sixth place for the men's squad, swimming the course in 50.46. Serafina Viola was the women's top finisher which stood at 10th place (57.65) while Morgan Rogers garnered 14th after timing out in 59.48.

Four divers were on the ledger for the women's 3-meter dive with Alexis Gaulin scoring a team-best 199.25 points for fifth place. Lia Oppenheim was one spot behind her teammate after registering 197.55 points. Elizabeth Beaulieu collected 170.90 points for ninth place followed by Caitlin Campbell's 11th-place finish with her 166.20 points.

The 400 medley relay closed out the night's competition with both Fairfield entries taking fifth place. On the women's side, Erini Pappas, Maddie Mowad, Ameila Sicignano, and Serafina Viola combined for a final time of 3:52.88. For the men, Will Robinson, Peter Sloan, Evan Fair, and Alex Belfer occupied the lane and clocked out in 3:19.58.

The final day of the 2022 MAAC Championships comes on Saturday with the preliminaries starting at 10 am and the finals beginning at 6 pm.