The University of Maine squared off with their rival the University of New Hampshire (UNH) Friday night in 16 swimming and diving events. The score after day one had UNH ahead of the Black Bears swimmers by a scoring total of 161-125.
Maine had a few first place finishers in the swimming portion and one first place finisher in the diving portion. Among the first place finishers was second-year swimmer Victoria Kingston, who finished first in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 1:00.06. First-year swimmer Shayla-Rose Kleisinger finished first in the 200-yard individual medley, recording a time of 2:13.69. The 200-yard freestyle relay team consisting of second-year Emily Borger, third-year Tessa Lindsley, second-year Juliana Mcdonald and second-year swimmer Chloe Adams came in first with a time of 1:41.34. The lone diving winner of the night was third-year diver Hayli Weitz, winning the three meter dive by scoring 203.62 points.
First-year Megan McGillivray quietly had a good night for the Black Bears. She finished in second place in the 200-yard IM, and also in the 100-yard backstroke. She finished in second place in the 200-yard medley relay on a team with first-year swimmer Emma Blackdeer, fourth-year Taylor Sharp and Mcdonald. McGillivray also placed third in the 200-yard backstroke, scoring 15 points for Maine in Friday night’s meet.
The best events for Maine on Friday were the 200-yard IM, the 3-meter dive and the 200-yard freestyle relay. In the 200-yard IM, the Black Bears took the top three spots. In the 3-meter dive, they finished in first and second place. For the 200-yard freestyle relay, they finished impressively, taking the top four spots.
After an average night on Friday, the women will join up with the men for a joint meet at Providence on Saturday afternoon, with hopes of finishing the weekend strong. Saturdays meet starts at 2 p.m.
Men and women’s teams compete at Providence
The UMaine men and women’s swimming and diving teams squared off with the Providence Friars in a meet full of tight competition, and close events on Saturday afternoon in Providence, R.I. The women’s team rebounded after a tough loss the night before, to beat the Friars by a score of 170-111. On the other side, the men’s team lost a very close match to Providence, 142-129.
On the women’s side, Maine won a staggering 11 out of 16 events, proving to be the difference in the overall points. Several Maine women had an outstanding day in the pool. McGillivray, Adams, Kingston and Kleisinger, who all recorded multiple first place finishes on Saturday.
McGillivray continued her momentum from Friday night, winning the 200-meter backstroke with a time of 2:15.15. She also placed first in the 200-meter medley relay, along with teammates Blackdeer, Sharp and Mcdonald. The relay team recorded a winning time of 2:04.65.
Adams finished first in the 200-meter freestyle with a time of 2:10.70, then first in the 100-meter freestyle with a time of 59.91 and won the 200-meter freestyle relay with a time of 1:51.06. Her teammates for the relay were Borger, Mcdonald and Lindsley. Kingston placed first in the 200-meter butterfly with a time of 2:24.36, and in the 100-meter butterfly, recording a time of 1:06.71. Kleisinger won the 400-meter freestyle recording a time of 4:35.61, and was victorious in the 200-meter IM with a time of 2:28.87.
The women dominated their side of the meet, winning almost 70 percent of their events throughout the afternoon.
On the men’s side, the Black Bears won 9 out of 16 events in the meet, only losing to Providence by a mere 13 points.
A couple Maine swimmers went above and beyond on Saturday afternoon, by placing first in multiple events. First-year swimmer Andrew Majeski won three events during the meet. Makeski won the 800-meter freestyle with a time of 8:52.84, proceeded to win the 200-meter butterfly with a time of 2:16.20 and topped off his performance by winning the 400-meter freestyle by recording a 4:17.36 time.
The second Maine swimmer who had an above average day at the meet was third-year swimmer Nick Sundquist. He won two individual events, first the 200-meter freestyle with a time of 1:57.04, and then the 100-meter butterfly, recording a time of 57.07. He was also part of two winning freestyle teams. The first was the 200-meter medley relay, with a time of 1:48.77. Sundquist won that event with the help of his teammates, second-year swimmer Peter Tirabassi, fourth-year swimmer Matt England and fourth-year swimmer Shane Kinnon. Sundquist topped off his afternoon by winning the 200-meter freestyle relay with the help of his teammates, England, Kinnon and second-year swimmer Kevin Clyne. The relay team finished with a time of 1:38.39.
After a tough loss on Saturday, the men’s swimming and diving team now travels to the Wheaton Invitational for redemption next weekend.
With a strong weekend of swimming behind them, the women’s swimming and diving team now turns their focus on preparing for the America East Championships at Worcester Polytechnic Institute which takes place from Feb. 11-14.
