Women's Swimming and Diving 2/20/2011 12:00:00 AM

Men Win Eighth Straight, Women Reclaim America East Swimming and Diving Championship

BOYDS, Md.—The UMBC men's and women's swimming and diving teams have captured the 2011 America East Championships, with the men winning their eighth straight America East crown, while the women have won their third conference crown since joining the AEC. The men finished with 896.5 points, while the women scored 763.

Senior Brad Reitz (Ellicott City, Md./Howard) earned the Male Coaches' Award, for the most points accumulated over a four-year career, after earning 223 in his Retriever career. JuniorAbbey McKenney (Wilmington, Del./Brandywine) was named the Most Outstanding Female Swimmer, while freshman Johan Rohtla (Tallinn, Estonia/Tallinn Secondary Science) was named Most Outstanding Male Rookie. UMBC also were named Men's Co-Coaching Staff of the Year.

The Retriever men, who also captured their 14th consecutive conference crown overall, defeated Boston University (848), Binghamton (690.5), Maine (324) and Stony Brook (323), while the women outpaced Boston U. (658), New Hampshire (610), Vermont (421), Binghamton (406), Stony Brook (300) and Maine (237).

Reitz became the seventh athlete in America East history to win the same event four years in a row, taking the men's 200-yard butterfly in a time of 1:47.26, re-breaking the school and pool record in 1:47.26. Sophomore Sandy Haibel (Rockville, Md./Richard Montgomery) placed third in 1:51.62, while juniorBen Wolbert (Finksburg, Md./Westminster) and sophomoreAlex Moothart (Hopkinton, Mass./Hopkinton) finished seventh and eighth, respectively.

McKenney won her third individual gold of the meet, taking the women's 100-yard freestyle in a UMBC, America East Championship and pool record time of 49.66. Freshman Erika Ronning (Western Springs, Ill./Lyons Township) placed fourth in 51.50, while junior Ashley Miller (New Smyrna Beach, Fla./New Smyrna Beach) took eighth in 52.56.

Rohtla broke the school record and won gold in the men's 200-yard backstroke in a time of 1:46.80, breaking his own record set earlier in the day by 1.5 seconds. Junior Nour Saad(Columbia, Md./Oakland Mills) finished sixth in 1:52.85, while senior Mat Carson (Toronto, Ontario, Canada/Silverthorn Collegiate Institute) placed eighth in 1:55.22.

Senior Pierre De Waal (Pretoria, South Africa/Tuks Sport/Cleveland State) earned gold in the men's 1,650-yard freestyle with a time of 15:39.21, the fourth-fastest time in school history. Moothart finished fourth in 15:57.94, the eighth-fastest time in UMBC history, while Carson placed sixth in 16:06.95.

Senior Eric Jones (Gambrills, Md./Arundel) took home silver in the men's 100-yard freestyle in a time of 45.35, while sophomore Steve Gallagher (Sinking Spring, Pa./Wilson) and seniorKeilan Freeman (Calgary, Alberta, Canada/Argyll Centre) finished fourth and seventh in 45.53 and 46.38, respectively.

Junior John Mendenhall (Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill East) earned silver in the men's 200-yard breaststroke in 2:02.02, while seniors Phillip Novotny (Fairfield, Conn./Fairfield Warde) and Dan Weston-Dawkes (Ellicott City, Md./Wilde Lake) finished fourth and fifth in 2:05.76 and 2:06.08, respectively.

Sophomores Tara Morrissette (Somersworth, N.H./Saint Thomas Aquinas) and Jennifer Kotonias (Burtonsville, Md./Academy of Holy Cross) earned silver and bronze in the women's 200-yard butterfly with times of 2:01.46 and 2:01.52, respectively. Senior Sarah Ryan (Rockville Centre, N.Y./Oceanside) took seventh in 2:04.14.

Sophomore Amy Fay (Haverhill, Mass./Haverhill) earned bronze in the women's 1,650-yard free in a time of 16:54.76, the second-fastest time in school history. Senior Rebecca Godwin(Catonsville, Md./Notre Dame Prep) finished fifth in 17:02.22.

In the women's 200-yard backstroke, junior Laura Tilman (Miami, Fla./Ransom Everglades) finished sixth in a time of 2:03.81. In the women's 200-yard breaststroke, sophomore Claire Barron (Lowestoft, England/Benjamin Britten/New Orleans) finished fourth in 2:20.71.

In the women's 1-meter diving, sophomore Victoria Monetta (Lawrenceville, Ga./Central Gwinnett) and senior Amanda Shinholser (Burtonsville, Md./Springbrook) finished in 13th and 14th with scores of 186.25 and 181.05, respectively.

In the final events of the meet, the women's 400-yard freestyle relay of senior Danielle Cruz(Catonsville, Md./Western Tech), Ronning, Miller and McKenney won gold in a school record time of 3:24.15, while the men's 400 free relay of Gallagher, Freeman, De Waal and Jones finished third in 3:01.78.

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