BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Both Fairfield swimming and diving teams carried the momentum of a strong start on Wednesday and turned it into another solid day at the 2023 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Championships on Thursday. The women's team holds the top spot in the team standings with 228 points while the men's squad stands fourth in the standings with 192 points.
Individually,
Erini Pappas and
Alexey Belfer established school standards in their respective events to help their respective teams set pace for the day. Pappas established the Fairfield mark in the 200 IM and finished first in 2:02.77.
Alison Sposili was the next Stag to touch the wall with her time of 2:08.27 which was 10th in the race. Belfer broke the previous record with his sprint of 20.24 which placed him second in the event.
Patrick Gill was next for the Stags with his time of 21.09.
Erin Hoyland captured gold in the 500 freestyle, registering the top time in the event with her time of 4:59.54. She was one of four Fairfield swimmers to finish in the top eight with
Sydney Scalise (3rd in 5:04.06),
Callie Gray (4th in 5:04.32), and
Laina Bayles (8th in 5:13.06) completing the foursome.
Joseph Stewart also enjoyed a top three finish with his second-place swim in the 500 freestyle, ending his performance in 4:27.55.
Tim Regan also entered the event and secured 10th place based on his swim of 4:36.07.
Evan Fair also earned a medal after completing the 200 IM with a time of 1:50.04, the third-best time in the event.
Ed Hunt secured the 10th spot in the 200 IM by completing the distance in 1:51.57.
Serafina Viola was the team's top finisher in the 50 free, taking seventh based on her run of 23.95.
Olivia Thompson collected 10th place with her time of 24.09.
The women's 3-meter diving competition also took place on Thursday with two Stags finishing in the top five.
Alexis Gaulin earned fourth place based on her 211.65 points, while
Lia Oppenheim garnered fifth place after scoring 202.60 points through her rotation.
Elizabeth Beaulieu also competed in the event, holding the 11th spot courtesy of her 181.80 points.
The 2023 MAAC Swimming and Diving Championships will continue on Friday with the preliminaries slated for 10 am and the finals scheduled for 6 pm. The event comes to its conclusion on Saturday, February 11 with the preliminaries and finals set for 10 am and 3 pm respectively.
