Boston College, Rider vs. Loyola (Md)

BALTIMORE, Maryland, January 15. THE Loyola University Maryland swimming and diving programs kicked off the new year in style on Saturday, as the men's side knocked off Rider and Boston College while the women's team defeated Boston College in a thrilling finish.

The Loyola men topped Boston College, 189-109, and took down Rider by a 170-130 margin. The women's side fell to Rider, 180-118, but pushed past Boston College, 152-148.

The meet marked the first of the calendar year but the last home meet of the season, giving Head Coach Brian Loeffler a chance to say goodbye to his seniors in front of the Greyhound fans.

"This was by far one of the largest and most talented group of seniors we have had," Loeffler said. "I will cherish the final two away dual meets and MAAC Championship meet with them. It will be sad when it comes to end."

Loyola's women's team found itself in a fight to the finish against Boston College. In the day's final event, the women's 400-yard freestyle relay, the Eagles needed both of its relay entries to finish ahead of Loyola or the Greyhounds would win. One Boston College entry did just that, but the Loyola group of Erin Shea, Lauren Mari, Courtney Chenet and Caitlin Cassidy beat out the other pack of Eagles with a time of 3:42.90, taking third place by a difference of .67 seconds and ensuring the team's win.

The Greyhounds began the day on a high note, with Mary Henkels, Courtney Trivino, Caitlin Cassidy and Caitlin Cronin combining for a women's 200-yard medley relay time of 1:50.85 to give Loyola its first win of the day.
The men's side followed with a win of its own in the same event, taking the relay with a one-two finish. The quartet of Sam McQuaid, Matthew Fralinger, Ozzy Torres and Jeff Rowe finished with a time of 1:35.49 to edge the 1:37.49 effort of Patrick Mukri, Colin Chenet, Tim Rowe and Ryan Leonard.

Brennan Morris won the first of his three Saturday victories in the men's 1,000-yard freestyle. Morris touched the wall at 9:42.16 to beat Rider Bronc Arthur Arciszewski's time of 9:56.54.

Morris followed up with wins in the men's 200-yard backstroke and the men's 200-yard individual medley. The sophomore's time of 1:50.43 gave him the win in the backstroke and his time of 1:52.84 in the individual medley sealed the trifecta. Both wins came over by beating Rider's Johnny Funk by less than a second.

Loyola's Caitlin Cronin picked up one of her three second-place finishes with a strong effort in the women's 200-yard freestyle. Her time of 1:55.20 put her behind Brianna Burns of Rider. Cronin also nabbed second-place in the women's 100-yard freestyle and the women's 50-yard freestyle, in which teammate Lauren Mari took fourth.

The Greyhounds also enjoyed success on the men's side of the 200-yard freestyle as Scott Heil finished ahead of the pack with a winning time of 1:42.94

Colin Chenet earned a win in the men's 100-yard backstroke with a time of 58.72, narrowly beating out teammate Matthew Fralinger and his time of 58.86.

Courtney Trivino enjoyed a strong day for Loyola for the women's team. She finished in second place in the women's 100-yard breaststroke, nearly catching Boston College's Shannon Landers but falling by one-third of a second. Trivino also finished second in the women's 200-yard individual medley but not before capturing a win in the 200-yard breaststroke, edging teammate Noelle Staib thanks to Trivino's time of 2:29.09 to Staib's marker of 2:31.42.

Staib and fellow Greyhound Brittany Guinee enjoyed a positive result in women's 200-yard butterfly, the day's 11th event. Staib beat out Guinee for second place by only one-tenth of a second, handing Guinee a third place finish.

Ozzy Torres delivered a win for the men's team in the men's 200-yard butterfly. Torres took the event by more than a two-second margin with a time of 1:55.69.

Jeffrey Rowe captured a victory in the men's 50-yard freestyle with a blazing result of 21.96 seconds. Teammates Julien Brice and Ryan Leonard took third and fifth, respectively.

In the men's 200-yard breaststroke, Matthew Fralinger earned his first individual win of the day by finishing ahead of teammate Colin Chenet with a time of 2:09.

The Loyola men's side took its last win in impressive fashion, taking the top three spots in the men's 100-yard butterfly. Ozzy Torres touched the wall first in 50.63 seconds and Jeff Rowe (52.32) and Jacob Drannan (52.81) followed in second and third.

Loyola returns to the water on Saturday, January 22, in Harrisonburg, Va. The women's team will take on James Madison will both sides will battle Towson when the action begins at 1 p.m.

The above article is a press release submitted to Swimming World Magazine. It has been posted in its entirety without editing. Swimming World offers all outlets the chance to reach our audience by contacting us at Newsmaster@swimmingworldmagazine.com. However, Swimming World reserves the right to choose what material is posted.

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