BALTIMORE, Md.
- The Marist men's swimming and diving team completed their first day of
competition at the H2ounds Invitational with strong showings in each of the six
events that were held. In the four team meet, Marist holds leads over Iona,
75-32 and Saint Peter's by a score of 80-27, and trail the three-time MAAC
Champion Loyola, by just a nine point margin at 59-50. Sophomore Sean Molloy
(Slingerlands, N.Y.) led five Red Foxes who recorded two top finishes with a
win in the 1-meter board.
The Red Foxes began their day with a
second place finish in the 400-yd medley relay. The "A" team of sophomore Nick
Spinella (Franklin Square, N.Y.) and freshmen Evan Uy (Kailua-Kona, Hawaii),
Jason Ruddy (Lake Katrine, N.Y.) and John Spitzer (Fairport, N.Y.) completed
the race at 3:30.52.
In the first individual event the
500-yd freestyle, Marist placed four swimmers in the top seven with freshman
Bill Drennen (Collegeville, Pa.) leading the quartet with a third place finish
at 4:42.75. Patrick Shea (Peabody, Mass.), Daniel Collins (Brooklyn, N.Y. ) and
Matt Collins (Brooklyn, N.Y.) finished in places, four, five and seven with
times of 4:46.84, 4:49.71 and 4:50.76, respectively.
Event six for the Red Foxes was the
200-yd individual medley. Ruddy was the top placing Marist competitor as he
came in second place with a time of 1:56.03. Spinella finished in fifith place
in the ultra-competitive race just .28 behind Ruddy at 1:56.31.
In sprint freestyle action, Spitzer
led a trio of Red Foxes, who finished in the top eight. The freshman finished
with a time of 21.53, just .05 shy of the second place time. Sophomore Alex Lombardi (Branford, Conn.) finished in fifth at 21.71, while junior Tyler
Ferraro (Southbury, Conn.) was eighth at 22.17.
The 1-meter diving competition was
the final individual event of the day. Marist teammates Molloy and freshman
Jacob Baker (Shavertown, Pa.) had outstanding results and collected first and
second place finishes with 226.80 and 225.70 point totals, respectively.
The 800-yd freestyle relay completed
the day of action for the Red Foxes. The "A" team of Drennen, Ruddy, Spinella
and junior Stephen Miller (Downington, Pa.) finished in second place with a
time of 7:06.77.
At the completion of the day's
events, head coach Larry VanWagner looked back on the results of both of his
teams and remarked that "this was the most impressive Friday showing that we've
had in the 10 years of competing in this invitational."
The
Red Foxes will continue with the final two sessions of the H2ounds Invitational
on Saturday, Dec. 3.
