GNAC Swimming & Diving Report: Week 6

(FOR THE WEEK OF NOV. 25 - DEC. 2)

	MEN'S ATHLETE OF THE WEEK  Joshua Unas, Regis (Mass.) (Sr., Santa Clarita, Calif.) Unas was victorious in all six events he entered Saturday at the Regis Invitational. Unas was part of the quartet that won both the 200 freestyle relay in a season-best time of 1:34.92 and the 200 medley relay in 1:47.30. In the morning session, Unas finished first in the 50 breaststroke with a season-best time of 29.10 seconds and in the 200 individual medley in 2:06.14, also a season-best time by almost three-and-a-half seconds as well as potentially the best time in the GNAC. In the afternoon, Unas touched the wall first in the 400 individual medley in 4:32.36 and in the 100 breaststroke in 1:03.18, yet another season best mark.
	WOMEN'S ATHLETE OF THE WEEK Elisabeth McQuaid, Regis (Mass.) (Jr., Marlborough, Mass.) All three one-meter diving pool and school records fell Saturday at the Regis Invitational, as Elisabeth McQuaid completed 11 dives with a total of 443.05 points, 35 points more than the previous school record that stood for 28 years. In splitting up the dives, McQuaid established the five-dive record at 188.80 points and the new six-dive standard at 254.25 points. McQuaid remains the highest-ranked diver at one meter in the GNAC.
	MEN'S ROOKIE OF THE WEEK GianCarlos Banrey, Regis (Mass.) (Fr., Roslindale, Mass.) Banrey was victorious in all six events he entered Saturday at the Regis Invitational. Banrey was part of the quartet that won both the 200 freestyle relay in a season-best time of 1:34.92 and the 200 medley relay in 1:47.30. Individually, Banrey started his morning with a win in the 100 individual medley in 1:00.32, followed by a victory in the 50 freestyle in 22.86 seconds, 2/100th of a second quicker than his previous best time this year. He electrified the crowd in the afternoon by breaking his own pool record in the 50 butterfly by 0.69 seconds with a winning time of 23.42 seconds, and then he won the 200 butterfly by over 15 seconds with a mark of 2:17.01.
	WOMEN'S ROOKIE OF THE WEEK Megan Duffy, Norwich (Fr., Shelton, Conn.) Duffy won the 200 yard butterfly in 2:22.49 at Saturday's Bridgewater Invitational. She also won the 50 yard breaststroke in 35.10, the 100 yard IM in 1:04.80 and swam a leg on the second-place 200 yard medley relay team.

WEEK 6 HONOR ROLL

Kelsey Brown, Colby-Sawyer (Fr., Douglas, Mass.) Brown notched a program record in the 100 butterfly prelims and then another in the finals, as the Chargers competed at the Gompei Invitational hosted by Worcester Polytechnic Institute. The three-day meet featured some of New England's best programs spanning all three divisions. Brown posted the record-setting swims on the first day of competition. She lowered her own 100 butterfly school record of 1:02.02, which she set in New London on October 24, with Friday morning's time of 1:01.40. She placed 30th in the prelims that featured 81 competitors. She came back to swim in the C Final and achieved another record-setting time. Brown improved her place to finish 26th in a record time of 1:00.58. On Saturday, Brown finished 36th in the 200 IM prelims with a time of 2:19.09, beating her previous season best time by a second. Brown had an impressive swim in the 400 IM. She shaved 12 seconds off her season best time to finish in 31st at 4:57.53, just two seconds away from another record. Sunday was highlighted by another strong result from Brown. She finished 23rd in the 100 IM prelims with a time of 1:04.93. She then won the C Final by lowering her time once again to 1:03.86 to finish 21st overall.

Joe Vail, Husson (Fr., Saco, Maine) Vail won, took second and two third-place finishes in four events that he swam at the 2018 Regis Invitational (Dec. 2) this past weekend, helping the Eagles to a third-place finish. The rookie won the 200 Back by scattering the 45-year old school record with a 2:17.71 before finishing as the runner-up in the 200 Breast by .79 one hundredth of a second with a 2:33.69 in the first session of the day. In the second session, Vail took third in the 400 IM with his second school record of the meet of 4:50.65 and in the 100 Breast (1:10.31). The Saco, Maine native also swam as a member of two third-place finishing relays as well as being one of two swimmers who were not from Regis College to win a event at the invitational.

Alex DiGiacomo, Norwich (Jr., Norfolk, Mass.) DiGiacomo won the 50 yard freestyle in 22.85 at Saturday's Bridgewater Invitational. He also claimed the 100 yard freestyle in 50.05, the 100 yard butterfly in 56.48 and took second in the 50 yard butterfly in 25.22 and swam a leg on the second-place 200 yard medley relay team

Kyleigh Boatwright, Regis (Mass.) (Fr., Roseville, Calif. )Boatwright led the Pride with three individual victories at the Regis Invitational Saturday, starting in the 50 breaststroke with a season-best time of 34.63 seconds. She also touched the wall first in the 100 individual medley in 1:05.47, also a season-best mark, and in the 50 backstroke with a time of 30.59 seconds. In addition, Boatwright anchored the victorious 200 freestyle relay squad with a season-best time of 1:45.80 for the team

Aine Scholand, Simmons (Jr., Albuquerque, N.M.) The junior was the high point-scorer with 71 points at the 2018 MIT Swimming & Diving Winter Invitational, winning the 1650-yard freestyle with a time of 17:08.69 to go with a second-place effort in the 500-yard freestyle with a mark of 5:04.82. Scholand finished fourth in the 200-yard freestyle on a time of 1:55.92 and touched the wall in 54.45 to place 14th in the 100-yard freestyle. The West Coast native also helped the Sharks set a school-record in the 800-yard freestyle relay at 7:46.36, which was good for third place and contributed to a fifth-place showing in the 400-yard freestyle relay.

Sarah Singleton, Simmons (Fr., Mission Hills, Calif.) The first year was one of two Simmons swimmers to compete in 11 events at the 2018 MIT Swimming & Diving Winter Invitational and placed fourth in the 400-yard individual medley with a school-record time of 4:40.31 to shatter the previous mark by almost 12 seconds and also finished 12th in the 200-yard IM with a time of 2:14.87. The rookie scored points in the 200-Yard backstroke with a time of 2:13.54 to place 15th and also tallied points in the 100-yard butterfly with a mark of 1:01.57 to finish 20th. Singleton helped the Sharks to a third-place finish in the 800-yard freestyle relay on a school-record time of 7:46.36 and later contributed to the team's fifth-place effort in the 400-yard freestyle relay with a mark of 3:36.02.

The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 13 member institutions and over 3,000 student-athletes across the New England region. Founded in 1995, the GNAC annually sponsors and administers 20 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunity and community involvement in an effort to enhance the student-athlete experience. 

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