Lexington, Va. – In its first scored meet of the 2020-21 season, the UMBC men's swimming and diving team won 15 of 16 events and defeated America East foe VMI, 216-75, at Clark King Pool.

Sophomore Niklas Weigelt (Clayton, Calif.) captured all three sprint freestyle events. The 2019-20 America East Most Outstanding Rookie touched first in the 50 (21.73), 100 (47.40) and 200 (1:43.38) races.

Junior Sam Jyawook (Franklin, Tenn.) won both distance events, taking gold in the 1000 (9:34.29) and 500 (4:41.77) freestyles. Sophomore diver Will Henrickson (Ellicott City, Md./River Hill) earned the top spot on both boards, amassing 223.10 points on the 1-meter board and 219.80 on the 3-meter board.   

UMBC also opened and closed the meet with relay wins in the 200 medley and 400 freestyle events.

Other Retriever winners were Luka Zuric (100 backstroke), Dani Nicusen (100 breaststroke), Charles Bennici (200 butterfly), Max Casey (200 back), Maxwell Trias (200 breast) and Gabe Laracuente (100 fly).

The diving portion of the America East Championships will be held April 17-18 at Binghamton University (N.Y.) while the swimming section is scheduled for April 23-25 at NJIT.