Men's Swimming and Diving Grab Lead, Women Second After Day 1 of Patriot Invitational

FAIRFAX, Va. - After one day of competition at the George Mason Patriot Invitational in Fairfax, Va., the UMBC men's swimming and diving team stands at the top of the standings with 244 points, while the women are second with 278.

"It's a huge advantage for us to jump out to a lead after the first day," sophomore Jason Mattingly (Cherry Hill, NJ./Cherry Hill West) said. "We have the momentum now and we will continue to run with it for the next couple of days."

On the women's side, senior Sam Maccherola (Woolford, Md./South Carroll/Tennessee) claimed gold in the 500 free in a time of 4.52.53, while freshman Amy Fay (Haverhill, Mass/Haverhill) earned bronze in 4:58.22, which is 6th in UMBC history. Junior Rebecca Godwin (Catonsville, Md./Notre Dame Prep) was fourth in a time of 4:58.51, which ranks right behind Fay in the school record books.

Senior Tereza Kaplanova (Prague, Czech Republic/Gymnazium J.G. Jankovskeho) turned in the second fastest time in UMBC history in the 200 IM, touching first in 2:04.92, while the 400 IM team of Kaplanova and fellow seniors Tina Cantwell (Sinking Spring, Pa./The Hill School), Jennifer Esposito (Lindenhurst, N.Y./Lindenhurst/C.W. Post) and Maccherola earned gold in 3:49.61.

'"Our women exceeded our expectations and have shown the mentality of a true championship team," head coach Chad Cradock said.

On the men's side, the 200 free relay team of senior Matt Mattingly (Cherry Hill, NJ./Cherry Hill West), junior Eric Jones (Gambrills, Md./Arundel), Jason Mattingly and freshman Steve Gallagher (Sinking Spring, Pa/Wilson) earned silver in a time of 1:23.67, while the 400 medley relay team of sophomore Nour Saad (Columbia, Md./Oakland Mills), Matt Mattingly, junior Brad Reitz (Ellicott City, Md./Howard) and Jones touched second in a time of 3:24.19.

Junior Mark Garbowski (Cherry Hill, NJ./Cherry Hill West) earned bronze in the 500 free in a time of 4:39.38, while in the 50 free, the Retrievers took fourth, fifth, seventh and eighth to gain the advantage.

"Our men's team is young, but we're improving all the time," Cradock said. "We look forward to continuing our success in the pool over the next two days."

The action continues tomorrow with the prelim session at 10 a.m. and the finals at 6 p.m.