GENEVA, Ohio – It may have been a different day but the it was business as usual for the Fairfield University men's and women's swimming teams. Both squads added more gold to their collection while setting more records at the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Championships. The women's team regained the top spot in the team standings, while the men's squad gained the fourth spot overall.
The Stags established two new MAAC standards beginning with
Tone Sandsjo winning the 100 breaststroke in a record time of 1:01.45. The 400 medley relay also finished their even in record time as
Erini Pappas, Sandsjo,
Maggie O'Donnell, and
Nora Segurola-Larrinaga posted a time of 3:44.67.
Both of those performances along with first-place finishes by Segurola-Larrinaga in the 100 back (54.92) and
Alexis Gaulin in the 3 meter dive (264.85 points) sent the Stags into first place with 480 points, surpassing Niagara University which finished day three with 444 points. Marist College rounds out the top three with 415 points, followed by Canisius University (242 points), Rider University (227), Mount St. Mary's (224.5), Siena College (222.5), Iona University (214), Manhattan College (87), and Saint Peter's University (48).
The men's team standings see Marist College leading the way by tallying 438 points with Niagara University (347 points) and Rider University (336) rounding out the top three. Fairfield is next in line (306.5) followed by Iona University (271), Canisius University (219), Mount Saint Mary's (211), Saint Peter's University (142.5), and Manhattan College (92).
The day began with the women's 100 fly in which
Maggie O'Donnell captured fourth place to pace the Stags by touching the wall in 56.86. Nicholas Besgen garnered the 10
th spot in the men's 100 fly, taking the distance in 49.57.
The Stags placed three swimmers in the top eight of the 400 IM led by
Erin Hoyland's third-place swim in 4:27.56,
Callie Gray's sixth place effort in 4:30.90, and
Olivia Glaser's seventh-place performance with a time of 4:35.08. Ed Hunt secured a third-place medal for his performance in the event, clocking in at 3:57.83.
The 200 free was next on the docket and
Sydney Scalise represented the Stags with her time of 1:55.93 which placed fifth in the B final. The men's team gained points after Joseph Stewart picked up third place (1:38.28) while Tim Regan was fourth based on his time of 1:38.47.
Two Stags garnered spots in the top five of the 100 breaststroke, highlighted by Sandsjo's MAAC record-setting performance. Allison Sposili took home fifth place after completing the distance in 1:04.54.. The 100 back saw Segurola-Larrinaga gaining first while Pappas was just off her pace with a runner-up finish in 55.17. On the men's side, Oliver McLaughlin was involved in a three-tie for fifth place in the 100 back, touching the wall in a school record of 49.26, while Patrick Gill garnered eighth place with his performance of 50.15.
Diving took the stage next in the program of events and Gaulin, who won the 1-meter dive earlier in the championship, completed the sweep with her win in the 3 meter.
Lia Oppenheim collected a bronze medal based on her 229.70 points, followed by Lillian Tonole's sixth-place performance of 211.25 points. Gaulin became the first diver to win both the 1 meter and the 3 meter at the MAAC Championships since the 1993 edition.
The men's medley relay closed out the night with the Stags taking fifth place (3:18.65) and setting a school record behind the efforts of Oliver McLaughlin, Hans Lim, Regan, and Gill.
The final day of the championship is slated for Saturday with the preliminaries beginning at 10 am followed by the finals at 6 pm.
