Jan. 20, 2007
FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- In their first dual meet in more than five weeks, the Fairfield University swimming and diving teams came out strong sweeping NJIT this afternoon at the RecPlex. The men (1-6, 0-3) picked up their first dual meet victory of the season, with a 116-81 win while the women (5-5, 3-3 MAAC) downed the Highlanders, 103-22. The men's team was powered by sophomore Drew Kingman (Wilton, Conn.) who set three school records in his first-ever meet with the Stags.
Kingman, who sat out the first semester due to transfer regulations, set school records in each of the three events he participated in. He opened the day by helping the men's 200m relay break the school record. Kingman, along with freshman Boris Romanovsky (Marblehead, Mass.), Matt Rimmer (Branford, Conn.), and Tom Kozlowski (Farmingville, N.Y.) posted a time of 1:54.73 eclipsing the mark of 1:54.78 set in 2001. Kingman went on to capture the 200m individual medley with a recording-setting pace of 2:16.28. He broke the previous mark of 2:17.11 set by Raul Delgadillo in 2004. He closed the day by breaking the seven-year old school record in the 100m breaststroke with a time of 1:10.46. He bested the mark of 1:10.65 set by Dave McGovern in 1999.
The men's 200m free relay of Rimmer, Kozlowski, Brendan Sinatro (West Pittston, Pa.) and Sean McGonigle (Philadelphia, Pa.) also swam well, posting a time of 1:43.17 less than a second off the school record.
McGonigle won two individual events for the Stags, winning the 200m free with a time of 2:07.49 and the 400m free with a time of 1:04.62. Rimmer also won the 100m backstroke with a time of 1:04.62 while Kozlowski was victorious in the 50m free with a time of 25.86 seconds. Junior Rob Devine (Norwalk, Conn.) won the 800m free with a time of 9:43.52. Senior Tom Scappaticci (West Harrison, N.Y.) was second with a mark of 2:09.69. Scappaticci also was the runner-up in the 100m free with a time of 58.82 seconds.
On the boards, freshman Taylor Stecko (South Windsor, Conn.) recorded a score of 225.90 in the 3-meter and a mark of 211.58 in the 1-meter. Senior Russ Laub (Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.) posted a mark of 183.53 in the 3-meter and a score of 160.73 in the 1-meter.
On the women's side, senior Brittany Hunter (Mt. Kisco, N.Y.) was a double-winner for the Stags. She posted a win in the 200m freestyle with a time of 2:15.05 and touched first in the 100m butterfly in a time of 1:09.45.
Senior Jennifer Masi (North Haven, Conn.) posted a win in the 50m free with a time of 27.84 while freshman Jennifer Curtis (Randolph, Mass.) took the 800m free with a time of 11:16.04. Junior Sarah Dent (Albertson, N.Y.) won the 200m individual medley with a mark of 2:39.47. Junior Rachel Waldstein (Needham, Mass.) recorded a personal best of 1:06.79 in the 100m freestyle to win the event. She also notched a personal best in the 200m free with a time of 2:21.38.
In the diving events, junior Katharine Yee (Bethesda, Md.) recorded a mark of 224.55 in the 1-meter and 204.15 in the 3-meter. Junior Jennifer Silvia (Osterville, Mass.), competing in her first meet of the year, recorded a mark of 167.03 in the 1-meter and 196.20 in the 3-meter.
With the victories, Head Coach Bill Farley moved closer to becoming Fairfield's all-time winningest coach. He needs one victory on the men's side to tie Richard Lewis' total of 17 career wins and one meet victory on the women's side to tie Phil Palumbo's 35 career wins.
Fairfield will host its final home meet of the year as Stony Brook visits the RecPlex at 1 p.m. The Stags wrap up the dual meet season at Holy Cross on February 3. The 2007 MAAC Championships begin on February 8 at Loyola College in Baltimore, Md.
