Day One Prelim Results
Day One Final Results

BALTIMORE, Md. - The Fairfield men's and women's swimming & diving teams opened the 2008 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Championships with several strong performances.

In her first MAAC Championship event, rookie Katie Merz (Absecon, N.J.) took third in the women's 500-yard freestyle with a personal best of 5:06.02. Her time was just over three-tenths of a second off of the school record.

Junior Drew Kingman (Wilton, Conn.) broke his own school record in the  men's 200 I.M. with a time of 1:55.76 en route to a sixth place finish. Kingman's previous mark of 1:57.53 was set one year ago.

In the women's 1-meter dive, senior Katie Yee (Bethesda, Md.) placed third overall with a score of 220.05. Senior Jennifer Silvia (Osterville, Mass.) took seventh with a mark of 173.20. Sophomore Hillary Urbancic (Concord, Mass.) posted a mark of 125.15 but did not score.

In the 200 I.M., seniors Sarah Dent (Muttontown, N.Y.) and Rachel Waldstein (Needham, Mass.) each scored for the Stags. Dent placed 14^th overall with a time of 2:18.26 while Waldstein was 16^th with a time of 2:19.79.

In the women's 200 freestyle relay, the Stags finished seventh with a time of 1:43.77. In the 400 medley relay, Fairfield finished fifth with a time of 4:09.44.

In the women's prelims, freshman Allie Russoniello (Middletown, N.J.) posted a personal best in the 500 free with a time of 5:28.69 while Colleen Wilson (Niantic, Conn.) had a personal best of 5:39.70. Russioniello also posted a personal best in the 50 free with a time of 25.69 seconds as Fairfield's top-finisher in the event. Junior Megan Carlson (Worcester, Mass.) posted a personal best in the 200 I.M. prelims with a time of 2:20.83.

In the men's prelims, senior Sean McGonigle (Philadelphia, Pa.) clocked a time of 4:56.87 in the 500 free while senior Rob Devine (Norwalk, Conn.) had a time of 5:12.92. Freshman Jonathan O'Connor (Norwalk, Conn.) notched a personal best in the 200 I.M. with a time of 2:03.72 while freshman Charlie Helm (Cheshire, Conn.) posted a personal best of 2:05.35 in the event. Junior Garrett Marqua (Fairfield, Conn.) had a personal best of 24.06 seconds in the 50 free.

In the men's 200 freestyle relay, the Stags placed sixth overall with a time of 1:34.48. In the 400 medley relay, Fairfield was eighth with a time of 3:42.88.

After the first day of competition, the Fairfield women stand in fifth place overall with 100 points. Marist leads with 223 while Rider is third with 206.5. Loyola is third with 196 points followed by Iona (103).

On the men's side, after the first day, Fairfield is in seventh place overall. Rider leads the way with a score of 210 while Marist is second with 183.5. Loyola is in a close third with a score of 167.

Prior to the day's events, several Stags were named to the MAAC All-Academic Team. The student-athletes recognized for their performance in the classroom are: Dent, Silvia, junior Kaitlyn Buckheit (Exton, Pa.), sophomore Marina Meliones (Wayland, Mass.), senior Courtney Nicholas (Farmingville, N.Y.), senior Rob Willhoit (West Orange, N.J.), Alex Connaughton (Wayland, Mass.), McGonigle, and Boris Romanovsky (Marblehead, Mass.). For Silvia and McGonigle, it was their third-consecutive inclusion on the MAAC All-Academic Team

The Stags continue action at the MAAC Championships tomorrow and Saturday at Loyola's Mangione Aquatic Center. For complete event information and results, visit MAAC Championship Central.