FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Courtesy of Simmons Athletics Communications
Nine records broken on
Day One of GNAC Championship
BOSTON, Mass. - Host Simmons College registered 204 points to sit in first place following Day One of the 2014 GNAC Women's Swimming & Diving Championship, which got underway Saturday at the Holmes Sports Center Natatorium in Boston, Mass.
Norwich University leads the five-team field in the 2014 GNAC Men's Invitational with 151 points entering Sunday's final day of competition.
A total of nine new GNAC records were set during Saturday's evening session, as five women's marks fell during the finals and four men's thresholds were eclipsed.
This year's women's championship and men's invitational will conclude on Sunday, with prelims taking place in the morning (10:00 a.m.) before the evening session gets underway at approximately 5:00 p.m. in Boston. Be sure to follow the GNAC on Twitter (@TheGNAC) for all the latest updates and news from the event.
The Regis women sit in second place with 101.5 points on the women's side, while Saint Joseph's College of Maine is third with 46 points, following in fourth is University of Saint Joseph of Connecticut with 32 points and Husson University with 28.5 for fifth. Norwich is sixth with 21 points and Elms College is right behind with 20.
Regis trails Norwich on the men's side with 104 points, while Elms sits third with 65. Saint Joseph's (Maine) is fourth at 60 and Husson is fifth with 47 points.
For Simmons, freshman Michaela Morris scored 23 points individually, as her GNAC debut was memorable with a pair of individual titles and a fourth-place finish for the Sharks. She won the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 1:02.25 and made her biggest splash of the night when she set a new GNAC and school record in the 50-butterfly with a time of 27.71 to supplant the former conference mark of 27.99 held by Svetlana Loranger of Regis in 2012 and the 16-year old program standard held by Sara Munoz.
Simmons was dominant throughout the night, winning eight of the 10 scheduled swimming events. The squad racked up 27 points in the 500-freestyle, led by junior Kevyn Lee with a first-place time of 5:42.38. Sophomore teammate Julie Nguyen was less than a second behind at 5:43.21, while senior Hillary Wong placed third for the hosts with a mark of 5:46.71. Sophomore Emilie Lindholm gave the Sharks the fourth spot as well with a time of 5:49.07.
Simmons went 1-2-3 in the 50-freestyle, fueled by sophomore Miriam Swisher's first-place effort at 24.40 for nine of her 18 points, followed by Sharks' rookie Natalie Giraldi at 25.32. Senior Joleigh Ferro took third for Simmons with a time of 25:76. Swisher came back later to better her own GNAC record by almost a second in the 200-freestyle with a time of 1:57.57.
The Sharks began the night with a time of 1:42.64 to post a win in the 200-freestyle relay with a squad comprised of senior Chloe Davis, Ferro, sophomore Sarah Price and Swisher. Giraldi wiped out sophomore teammate Shylee Stewart's GNAC and pool record in the 100-yard breaststroke by almost two ticks of the clock with a time of 1:07.84. Giraldi capped the night as the second leg of Simmons' GNAC and pool-record breaking quartet in the 400-medley relay, joining Swisher, Morris and Davis to clock in at 4:10.25 to shatter the GNAC record by exactly seven seconds held by Swisher, Stewart, Davis and Jen Collins and the pool mark by 1.04 seconds.
Regis' freshman Jessica Higgins piled up 16 points to tie for third in the meet, winning the 200-backstroke with a GNAC record-breaking time of 2:15.94 that surpassed former Norwich swimmer Aurelia Hutchinson's 2006 time by almost four seconds. She also added a second-place finish behind Swisher in the 200-freestyle with a time of 2:05.35. Senior teammate Haley Bowen also totaled 16 points for the Pride, thanks to a first- and second-place finish. She won the 200 IM by more than four seconds with a time of 2:17.14, while finishing second in the 100-breaststroke to Giraldi with a time of 1:09.13.
USJ sophomore Kim Royer led the diving with a score of 155.80 on the one-meter board in a series of six dives, while Norwich junior Justina George registered a mark of 131.50. Simmons freshman Leyan Li led the Sharks with 121.60 points to place third.
Norwich used its depth on the first day to overcome a meet-high five first-place finishes by Regis on the men's side. Sophomore Kiet Luong finished the day as the meet's leading scorer for the men with 18 points on a pair of first-place efforts for the Pride. He highlighted his night with a GNAC record time of 23.54 in the 50-butterfly to beat the two-year old mark of Keegan Goan of Elms. Earlier in the evening, Luong put together a first-place finish in the 200 IM with a time of 2:03.15.
Sophomore teammate Cassidy Bastianelli (joined the record-breaking effort by shattering the former mark in the 200-freestyle by almost five seconds with a time of 1:46.79 to move past Stephen Lynch's 2013 standard set with Elms. He also finished second in the 50-freestyle with a time of 22.42 for Regis to finish behind the GNAC-record time of 22.17 turned in by senior teammate A.J. Graf.
Sophomore Mark Walleshauser led Norwich with 16 points, including the top time in the 100-butterfly at 54.68. He also finished second in the 50-butterfly at 24.60. Sophomore Nick Cirillotallied 16 points to lead Elms. He topped everyone in the 500-freestyle with a time of 5:09.39 and placed second in the 200-freestyle, hitting the wall at 1:53.73.
Husson senior Tim Smith dominated the one-meter diving, scoring 250.30 points to top the field in a six-dive set. Sophomore teammate Carl Pillitteri placed second with 175.30 points.
Founded in 1995, the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 12 member institutions and over 3,000 student-athletes across the New England region. Each year, the GNAC sponsors and administers 17 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunities and community involvement.
GNAC Women's Championship Standings
1. Simmons - 204
2. Regis - 101.5
3. Saint Joseph's (ME) - 46
4. Husson - 28.5
5. Elms - 20
6. Saint Joseph (CT) - 18
7. Norwich - 14
GNAC Men's Invitational Standings
1. Norwich - 151
2. Regis - 104
3. Elms - 65
4. Saint Joseph's (ME) - 60
5. Husson - 31
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