Swimming

Fairfield Women Hold Early Lead On Night 1 Of MAAC Championships

February 15, 2024

2024 METRO ATLANTIC ATHLETIC CONFERENCE (MAAC) CHAMPIONSHIPS

Dates: Wednesday, February 14 – Saturday, February 17
Location: Spire Institute, Geneva, OH
Teams: Canisius, Fairfield, Iona, Manhattan, Marist, Monmouth, Niagara, Rider, Siena (women only), Mount St. Mary’s
Combined
Defending Champions (men): Rider (11x)
Defending Champions (women): Fairfield (1x)
Meet Central
Live Results
Live Video
Digital Program
SwimSwam Fan Guide

The MAAC Championships kicked off in Geneva, Ohio tonight with the 200 medley relay, 800 free relay, and women’s 1 meter diving event.

Women’s Recap

The defending team champions of Fairfield kicked the meet off winning the 200 medley relay in a conference record. The team of Erini Pappas, Tone Sandsjoe, Maggie O’Donnell, and Nora Segurola Larringa swam to a final time of a 1:41.70, about half a second ahead of Mount St Mary’s who touched in a 1:42.23. Pappas had a big backstroke split for Fairfield as she split a 25.66, the only sub-26 split of the field.

The Niagara women finished only four points behind Fairfield last year and earned a win here on night one as they won the 800 free relay in a 7:29.57. The relay consisted of Paige South, Claire Gorton, Megan Jackson, and Mary Carl. All four swimmers were under the 1:53 mark. Canisius’s lead-off leg from Evie Leighton had the fastest split of the field as she swam a 1:50.42 on the lead-off leg, helping the team to a second-place finish.

Diving helped Fairfield claim an early lead at the meet as Alexis Gaulin won the 1 meter in a 274.80 and Fairfield teammate Lillian Tonole was 3rd. Niagara had no divers in the ‘A’ final.

Team Scores After Day 1:

Fairfield 127
Marist 98
Rider 81
Niagara 72
Siena 72
Canisius 62
Mount St Mary’s 58
Iona 56
Manhattan 36
Saint Peters 14

Men’s Recap

The men’s side is expected to be a battle between Marist and Rider and the two did not disappoint today. Rider earned the win in the 200 medley relay as the team of Lucas Racevivius, Billy Ruddy, Nicky Lane, and Bobby Irwin swam to a final time of a 1:29.04. It was an extremely tight race as the top seven teams all finished within a second of each other. Marist’s relay fell to seventh as they touched in a 1:29.99.

The Marist men bounced back and earned the win in the 800 free relay. The relay of Ethan McCormac, Oscar Bjering, Chris Dauser, and Adam Zaremba touched in a 6:33.81. McCormac led the relay off in a 1:36.55, the fastest of any split in the field tonight. All four members of Marist’s relay split under the 1:40 mark. The Rider men only improved upon their seed time by 0.30 seconds as they finished 6th in a 6:46.12.