BOSTON, MASS. – Both the UMBC men's
and women's swimming and diving teams sit in second place heading
into the final day at the America East Championships following
multiple wins on Saturday evening.
Boston U. leads the men's standings with 628 points, followed
closely by the Retrievers with 612 points. Binghamton
(411), Stony Brook (264) and Maine (199) round out the
rankings.
The Terrier women are also in the lead after three days of
competition with 476 points, with the UMBC women just behind with
472 points. New Hampshire (425.5), Vermont (264) and
Stony Brook (215) sit third through fifth, while Maine (207.5) and
Binghamton (191) place sixth and seventh.
Junior Andrew
Eckhoff (Chelmsford, Mass./Chelmsford) took top honors in
the 3-meter competition with 323.75 points. With the
win, Eckhoff swept the two diving events at the conference meet
after winning the 1-meter event back on Thursday.
Pak Lam Wong (Hong Kong/Kowloon Technical School), Ryan
Green (Ellicott City, Md./Centennial) and Enrique
Labourdeth (Rochester, Mich./Stoney Creek) also claimed
points in the finals by placing fifth, seventh and eighth,
respectively.
Senior Abbey McKenney (Wilmington, Del./Brandywine)
successfully defended her title in the 200 free to go with
yesterday's win in the 50 free.
Sophomore Klara Pavelkova (Prague, Czech Republic/Gymnasium
Pripotocni) also impressed for UMBC, claiming the 100 back title in
a school record time of 56.00. Junior Elise Blaschke (Washington Township, N.J./Bishop
Eustace Prep) and Kathryn Moorby (Cape May, N.J./Lower Cape May
Regional) placed fifth and eighth in the event.
Mid-year transfer Mohamed
Hussein (Cairo, Egypt/Victory College) claimed yet another
gold medal at his first championships, winning the 100 back in a
conference and pool record time of
48.92. Freshman Lauri
Kaei (Harjumaa, Estonia/Tallinn Secondary Science) claimed
a bronze for the Retrievers, touching in a time of 49.90.
Sophomore Johan
Rohtla (Tallinn, Estonia/Tallinn Secondary Science) and
senior Ben
Wolbert (Finksburg, Md./Westminster) finished fourth and
seventh in 50.39 and 52.41, respectively.
After winning a gold in the 500 free yesterday, junior Pierre De
Waal (Pretoria, South Africa/Tuks Sport/Cleveland State)
won the 200 free on Saturday with a time of
1:38.54. Kaei and Evan
Carey (Grand Island, N.Y./Grand Island) placed sixth and
eighth for UMBC in the event final.
In the 100 fly, junior Sandy
Haibel (Rockville, Md./Richard Montgomery) picked up a
silver for the Retrievers finishing in 49.23. His
prelims' time (49.23) set a new personal-best and places him fourth
on UMBC's all-time list.
In the night's relay, the 400 medley, UMBC's Pavelkova, Claire Barron (Lowestoft, England/Benjamin
Britten/New Orleans), Laura Tilman (Miami, Fla./Ransom Everglades) and
McKenney brought home gold for the Retrievers.
The UMBC combination of Hussein, Reijo
Hyvenen (), Haibel and Steve Gallager (Sinking Spring,
Pa./Wilson) also claimed a silver in the last event of the
night.
The final day of the 2012 America East Championships begins
tomorrow at 10 a.m. with event prelims.
