TOWSON, Md. – The UMBC swimming and diving split a dual meet against the Towson Tigers on Saturday afternoon, as the men picked up a 157-140 win and the ladies fell, 170-123.
"We are so proud of our team today. Towson is a great program and we respect them a lot," said head coach Chad Cradock. "Out team continues to grow and improve, and we are excited about the future."
The men started the day with a second place finish in the 200 yard medley relay, as the team of Alexander Gliese, Kyle Paxton, Philip Adejumo, and Connor Ganley touched in with a time of 1:33.98.
From there, it was all Retrievers as they took first place finishes in 10 individual events. In the 1000 free, UMBC went 1-2 as freshman Kai Wisner (Syracuse, N.Y.) touched in with a time of 9:33.33 followed by junior Haythem Abdelkhalek (Ariana, Tunisia), who touched in with a season best time of 9:39.10.
Wisner and Abdelkhalek also finished first and second in the 500 free, with times of 4:42.18 and 4:43.95, respectively.
Gliese and Paxton each took first place in two individual events on the day. Gliese was a winner in the 100 back (50.84) and 200 back (1:51.19), while Paxton took first in both the 100 and 200 breast, in 58.53 and 2:08.95, respectively.
Sophomore Ilia Rattsev led the charge for the men, winning the 50, 100, and 200 free. He clocked in at 21.00, 46.64, and 1:41.41, respectively. Adjeumo also earned a win in the 200 fly with a time of 1:53.03, while freshman Jack Carlisle (Cape Town, South Africa) finished third in the same race with a season best time of 1:54.33).
On the boards, junior Elijah Wright (Baltimore, Md./Loyola Blakefield) took first in the 3 meter dive with a score of 284.92 and second in the 1 meter with a score of 254.75. Junior Leo Buoye (Spencerport, N.Y.) and sophomore Ben Parker (Lawrenceville, Ga.) both finished third in the 1 meter and 3 meter dives, respectively.
On the women's side, Hania Moro (New Cario, Egypt) led the day with three individual wins. She took first in the 1000 free (10:07.79), 500 free (5:01.45), and 200 free (1:52.96). She also helped the 400 free relay team, along with Maddy Popalis, Emily Vance, and Natalija Marin to a second place finish with a time of 3:32.53.
Marin, Popalis, Vance, along with Laura Massicotte, also took second in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:46.91.
Marin won both of her individual events of the day, taking first in the 100 fly with a time of 55.95, and 200 fly with a time of 2:02.71. Massicotte took first in the 200 IM, touching in with a time of 2:10.19.
On the boards, sophomore Abby Biddulph (Egg Harbor City, N.J.) picked up a second place finish in the 3 meter dive with a score of 223.05. Classmate Devin Gromen (Crofton, Md./Arundel) and freshman Isabel Rayner (Potomac, Md./Winston Churchill) finished third and fourth in the same discipline. Gromen finished fourth in the 1 meter dive with a score of 221.32.
The Retrievers will return to the pool on Saturday, November 4 when they travel to Old Dominion for a 1 p.m. meet.
