Fairfield Splits with St. Peter’s

FAIRFIELD, Connecticut, October 20. THE Fairfield swimming and diving team split its season opener against Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) foe Saint Peter's this evening at the RecPlex. The women's team downed the Peahens, 126-68, while the men's team was edged, 131-106.

The women's team opened the season on a strong note by capturing nine events on the night. One Stag even broke a school record as sophomore Kaitlyn Buckheit shattered the 100-meter backstroke record with a winning time of 1:05.33. The previous standard of 1:08.28 was set by Julie Thorson in 1999.

Senior Jennifer Masi was one of three double-winners for the Stags. Masi picked up her first win of the year in the 50 freestyle with a time of 27.66, slightly more than three-tenths of a second off her record-setting pace. Masi also won the 100 free in a time of 1:01.70.

Classmate Brittany Hunter also picked up a pair of wins, capturing the 200 freestyle in a time of 2:16.04 and winning the 400 freestyle in a time of 4:47.29.

Junior Rachel Waldstein was the third Stag to notch two wins. Waldstein picked up the victory in the 200 IM with a personal best of 2:39.36.

Also notching a win was freshman Jen Curtis, who captured the 800-meter freestyle with a time of 11:05.88.

On the boards, junior Katharine Yee captured the 1-meter with a score of 217.05 while freshman Hillary Urbancic placed second with a mark of 160.35.

On the men's side, it all came down to the last two races. Entering the final two events, the 100-meter breaststroke and the 400-meter freestyle relay, Saint Peter's held a slight 104-97 advantage over the Stags. The Peacocks captured the breaststroke as John Virack clocked a winning time of 1:15.85 followed by the Stags' Colin Fernandez in a time of 1:17.52. Saint Peter's added to its score with third and fourth-place finishes. The Peacocks went onto capture the 400 freestyle relay in a time of 3:48.42 to seal the win.

In his collegiate debut, freshman Taylor Stecko was victorious on both boards. Stecko recorded a mark of 215.93 on the 3-meter while posting a score of 221.48 on the 1-meter. Diego Ibarra placed second in both events while Russ Laub placed third in both events.

Several additional Stags had solid individual performances. Sophomore Sean McGonigle placed second in the 800-meter freestyle with a personal best of 9:31.44 while Rob Devine took third in a time of 9:51.88. McGonigle also placed third in the 100 fly with a time of 1:08.29 while Devine took second in the 400 freestyle in a time of 4:50.11.

In the 200 free, Tom Scappaticci placed second with a time of 2:07.58 while Tim McMullen placed fourth in 2:16.78. Scappaticci also took third in the 100 free with a time of 1:03. Junior Brian Lloyd placed second in the 200-meter IM with a time of 2:29.14. Freshman Boris Romanovsky took second in the 100 butterfly with a time of 1:04.55.

Name*

Email*

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use