FULL RESULTS
Worcester, Mass.—For the fourth time in school history and first time since 2011, UMBC women's swimming and diving took home the America East Championship, edging out New Hampshire on the final day. The Retrievers scored 791 points, just edging out UNH, who had 777.
Sophomore Emily Escobedo (New Rochelle, N.Y./Maria Regina) earned her second straight Most Outstanding Swimmer of the Meet award, as she picked up her third victory of the weekend in the 200 breast. Escobedo touched the wall in a time of 2:10.54 to claim the gold. Kayla Lilly (Natick, Mass./Medfield) and Lexi Coon (Camden, Del./Milford) also placed in the top eight in the event. Lilly claimed fourth with a time of 2:18.35, and Coon took fifth in 2:19.33.
Catherine Frediani (Ellicott City, Md./Howard) helped the Retriever cause with a huge win in the 200 back. Frediani out raced the competition, finishing in a time of 2:02.76. Lauren Day (Kingwood, Texas/Kingwood) and Victoria Weston-Dawkes (Ellicott City, Md./Wilde Lake) placed sixth and eighth respectively in the race. Day finished in 2:05.81, while Weston-Dawkes ended with a time of 2:06.76.
UMBC went three-four-five in the mile on Sunday. Carly Waters (Crownsville, Md./Archbishop Spalding) earned a third place finish with a time of 17:18.39 to lead the Dawgs. Stephanie Romano (Arlington, Va./Yorktown/Towson) and Brenda Rhodes (Loveland, Colo./Loveland) finished in times of 17:19.30 and 17:22.11 to take fourth and fifth.
Allie Caulfield took home a seventh place finish in the 100 free, finishing with a time of 51.81. Joining the slew of Retrievers on the medal stand was Hannah Sutherland (Kingston, Ontario/Holy Cross Secondary), Amanda Day (Kingwood, Texas/Kingwood), and Weston-Dawkes in the 200 fly. Sutherland led the triumvirate with a second place finish in the event, touching the wall in 2:03.07. Day (sixth, 2:07.20) and Weston-Dawkes (eighth, 2:09.63) also earned medals in the event.
The only relay contested on the day was the 400 free relay. The team of Frediani, Allison Atkinson (Arnold, Md./Archbishop Spalding), Caulfield, and Kristie Langford (Port Hope, Ontario/CDCI West) finished fifth with a time of3:29.77.
UMBC finished with 791 points, just 14 points ahead of defending champs New Hampshire (777 points). The Retrievers found themselves just two points down coming into the day, and closed the gap during the finals. UMBC took the lead heading into the 200 fly, and held on for the championship. Vermont (662 points), Binghamton (470.5 points), Maine (433.5 points) rounded out the field.
Coach Chad Cradock, as well as assistants Chris Gibeau, Brandt Nigro, Rob Bellamy and diving coach Petar Trifonov earned Coaching Staff of the Year.
