Results

NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. - The Fairfield University men's and women's swimming and diving teams wrapped up the dual meet portion of their schedule with an exciting double-dual against Iona and Loyola Colleges. The men's team split with the Gaels and the Greyhounds while the women were swept by their two opponents. The men (6-4) defeated Iona, 160.5-127.5 but were topped by Loyola, 170-123. The women (6-5) were edged by Iona, 154-140 and by Loyola, 165-135.

Freshman Kekoa Taparra (Mililani, Hawaii) was victorious in three individual events to pace the outstanding effort by the men's team. In both the 100 and 200 yard breaststrokes, Taparra and classmate Brian Friedlander (River Edge, N.J.) finished one-two. In the 100 breaststroke, Taparra clocked a winning time of 59.30 seconds while Friedlander had a personal best of 1:01.57, both ECAC qualifying times. In the 200 breaststroke, Taparra touched in 2:10.39 while Friedlander finished in 2:13.52, both qualifying for ECACs. Taparra also captured the 200 IM with an ECAC qualifying time of 1:59.03. He was the second leg of the third-place 200 medley relay that finished with a time of 1:40.53, less than a second off the school record.

Junior Boris Romanovsky (Marblehead, Mass.) was the runner-up in the 100 back, finishing with a time of 57.81 seconds just behind Loyola's Brad Reeser (56.46). He was third in the 100 fly with a time of 55.20 seconds and was the lead leg of the 200 medley relay.

Freshman Andrew Robinson (Manalapan, N.J.) had a pair of second place finishes on the day. He was the runner-up in the 200 fly with a time of 2:05.32 behind Loyola's Scott Miller (2:04.73). In the 100 fly, he was touched out by senior Eric Verrico of Loyola.Verrico notched a time of 54.10 seconds while Robinson posted a time of 54.82 seconds. In addition, Robinson finished fifth in the 200 free with a time of 1:51.33 and was the third leg on the 200 medley relay.

Freshman Stefan Toi (Newton, Conn.) was the runner-up in the 200 back with a time of 2:05.29 behind Reeser (2:03.70). He was also fourth in the 100 back with a personal best of 58.29 seconds and in the 100 fly with a time of 55.64 seconds.

Sophomore Jonathan O'Connor (Norwalk, Conn.) had a pair of third place finishes. In the 1000 free, he clocked a time of 10:36.51. In the 200 fly, he posted a time of 2:07.85.

In the diving events, junior Taylor Stecko (South Windsor, Conn.) won both boards, posting a mark of 235.5 on the 1-meter and a score of 227.95 on the 3-meter. Sophomore Brett Carisio (Cheshire, Conn.) was the runner-up on both boards, recording a 194.8 on the 1-meter and 193.45 on the 3-meter.  

On the women's side, freshman Lauren Kennedy (Belmont, Mass.) posted two individual victories along with a relay win. Kennedy captured the 200 breaststroke with a personal best and ECAC qualifying time of 2:29.52 which is less than a second off the program record. Kennedy then won the 200 IM with a personal best of 2:17.66. She was the runner-up in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:10.60 just behind Iona's Jamie Manser (1:09.45). Kennedy was the second leg of the winning 200 medley relay which posted a time of 1:54.74.

Freshman Michelle Yoshida (Kaneohe, Hawaii) also captured two individual events, which included a school record, while anchoring a victorious 200 medley relay. Yoshida set her fifth program record of the year and qualified for ECACs, when she captured the 200 free in a time of 1:56.12. The previous standard was 1:56.19 which was set by Brittany Hunter at the 2006 MAAC Championships. Yoshida also won the 100 free in a time of 53.98 seconds, which is less than a second off the school record.

Freshman Norah Gentile (Manchester, Conn.) placed third in the 1000 free with a personal best of 11:12.64 while classmate Aly Criscuolo (Pittsford, N.Y.) was third in the 200 fly with a personal best of 2:17.91. Criscuolo was also fourth in the 100 fly with a personal best of 1:02.81 and was the third leg on the 200 medley relay.

Senior Meghan Carlson (Worcester, Mass.) finished third in the 100 back with a time of 1:03.84 and was the lead leg on the 200 medley relay. Carlson was also fourth in the 200 back with a time of 2:19.36.

On the boards, junior Hillary Urbancic (Concord, Mass.) won the 3-meter with a mark of 164.65 and was the runner-up on the 1-meter with a score of 168.55. Sophomore Sasha Campbell (Old Greenwich, Conn.) notched a score of 124.85 on the 1-meter and a mark of 127.30 on the 3-meter. Freshman Brenna Dean (Edison, N.J.) recorded a 99.25 on the 1-meter and a 123.35 on the 3-meter.

Fairfield heads to the 2009 MAAC Championships, February 12-14, in Baltimore, Md. For more information about the sold-out event, visit MAAC Championship Central.