Simmons Breaks Three Records, Norwich Men Overtake Lead After GNAC Championships Day Two

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Courtesy of Simmons Athletics Communications

BOSTON, Mass. – The Simmons University women’s swimming & diving team broke three conference records and won eight of nine finals events to increase its lead following Day Two of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Men’s & Women’s Swimming & Diving Championship, while the Norwich University men pulled into first place this evening at the Holmes Sports Center Natatorium on the campus of Simmons in Boston, Mass.

The top-eight finishers scored in individual finals events, while the second eight scored points in the consolation finals for the women, while the top-eight individual scoring competitors figured in the points on the men’s side.

Simmons owns a commanding lead with 652 points, while Regis (Mass.) stands in second with 386 points on the women’s side. University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) is currently third (226), followed by Norwich (219), Husson University (172), Colby-Sawyer College (157), Saint Joseph’s College (Maine) (147) and Elms College (130). 

Norwich compiled 180 points to swim past Regis (118) for the lead with Husson sitting in third place (66), followed by Saint Joseph’s (Maine) (51), Elms (49), University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) (27) and Colby-Sawyer (7).

The GNAC Championship continues Sunday at 9:00 a.m. with morning preliminaries at the Holmes Sports Center.

First year Sarah Singleton (Mission Hills, Calif.) broke a pair of GNAC records and a pool record during two victory swims for the night. The rookie touched the wall at 2:10.99 in the 200-yard individual medley to eclipse the former mark of 2:12.40 held by Norwich University’s Elaine Dudley, while also breaking Dudley’s pool record and teammate Jason Erichsen’s (Banks, Ore.) school record of 2:12.57 in a six-plus-second victory. She cruised to a win in the 100-yard butterfly with a GNAC and school-record mark of 58.46, supplanting Michaela Morris’ (2014-18) former marks. Erichsen was also a double-winner for the Sharks, taking the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:09.65, before going on to place first in the 50-yard breaststroke by a tenth of a second over Saint Joseph (Conn.) senior Annmarie Masayda (Watertown, Conn.). 

Senior Kerry Fleming (Northampton, Mass.) dominated the 200-yard backstroke for Simmons with a time of 2:07.79, winning by more than eight seconds and breaking the GNAC and pool record of 2:09.46, formerly held by former Shark Miriam Swisher (2013-17). Fleming also added a third-place effort as part of a 1-2-3 Simmons sweep in the 500-yard freestyle to give her 36 points as the fourth-leading individual women’s scorer for the day. Junior Aine Scholand (Albuquerque, N.M.) won the race by almost nine seconds at 5:02.96, followed by senior Laura Simpson’s (Perkiomenville, Pa.) mark of 5:11.88 for the Sharks. Sophomore Maria Soraghan (East Hampstead, N.H.) was also an individual winner for Simmons, finishing first in her only event with a time of 54.50 in the 100-yard freestyle. Fleming and Erichsen helped the Sharks win the 400-yard medley relay, swimming the backstroke and breaststroke, respectively, ahead of sophomore Anna Leedham (Lowell, Mass.) in the butterfly and junior Laura List’s (Bedford, Mass.) freestyle anchor leg to combine on a time of 4:08.49.

Norwich’s Sarah Carls finished first on the one-meter diving board by just over four points with a score of 218.75, while sophomore Sara Manjikian (Bedford, Mass.) placed second for the Sharks with 214.65 points. Regis junior Elisabeth McQuaid (Marlborough, Mass.) finished third with 207.65 points.

First year Megan Duffy (Shelton, Conn.) led all competitors on day two with 46 points for Norwich after placing second in the 200-yard individual medley, fourth in the 500-yard freestyle and fifth in the 50-yard breaststroke. Masayda paced Saint Joseph (Conn.) with 34 points as the meet’s fifth-highest scorer on the second day following second-place efforts in the 50 and 100-yard breaststroke events.

Colby-Sawyer first year Kelsey Brown (Douglas, Mass.) tallied 33 points for the seventh-most points on day two with a second-place effort in the 100-yard butterfly and a third-place finish in the 200-yard individual medley. First year Kyleigh Boatwright (Roseville, Calif.) led Regis with 32 points after third-place showings in the 100-yard freestyle and 200-yard backstroke, while Elms was topped by Brittany North (Palmer, Mass.) with 26 points from a fourth-place finish in the 200-yard backstroke and an eighth-place clip in the 200-yard individual medley. First year Alirose Beauregard (Dover, N.H.) was the high-scorer for Saint Joseph’s (Maine) with 20 points, including a sixth-place effort in the 200-yard individual medley, while Husson first year Maddie Wing (Mapleton, Maine) registered 18 points and placed seventh in the 100-yard freestyle.

Five Norwich men’s competitors tallied five of the top ten point totals, despite Regis boasting the top two scorers for the day. Regis finished first in five different events, led by senior Joshua Unas (Santa Clarita, Calif.) with wins in the 50 and 100-yard breaststroke to make him the only double-winner for the day. He turned in a time of 1:02.71 to win the 100 by more than four seconds, before clocking in at 29.07 to take the 50. GianCarlos Banrey (Roslindale, Mass.) scored 16 points for the Pride with a win in the 100-yard butterfly on a mark of 52.41 and a second-place effort in the 100-yard freestyle. First year Brendan Pike (Weymouth, Mass.) joined his Regis teammates as a winner after posting a mark of 5:02.34 in the 500-yard freestyle. First year Kevin Dugue (Roslindale, Mass.) (backstroke), Unas (breaststroke), Banrey (butterfly) and Pike (freestyle) combined on a time of 3:45.26 to win the 400-yard medley relay by nearly six seconds for the Pride.

Sophomore Joseph Clark (Acworth, Ga.) won the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 2:03.95 for Norwich and was third in the 500-yard freestyle, while senior Dylan Henderson (Commerce Township, Mich.) tallied 14 points as the fourth-highest point-scorer on a pair of second place finishes (50 and 100-yard breaststroke). Sophomore Conor Mahnke (Livonia, N.Y.) scored 230.25 points to finish first in the one-meter diving board as part of a 1-2-3 Norwich sweep. Sophomore Jacob Cleveland (Fayetteville, N.C.) placed second with 167.95 points and sophomore Russell Graham (North Yarmouth, Mass.) scored 159.60 points to finish third for the Cadets. 

Saint Joseph (Conn.) was led by first year Jacob Wyse (Broad Brook, Conn.), who scored 14 points as the fourth-highest scorer and earned a victory in the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 2:05.40. First year Steven Johnston (Hermon, Maine) won the 100-yard freestyle with a mark of 47.65 in his only event for Husson and Elms was led by sophomore Eddie Capoldo (Brunswick, Maine) after scoring nine points on a fourth-place showing in the 200-yard individual medley and a fifth-place effort in the 50-yard breaststroke. Senior Stephen Quinlan (Andover, Mass.) paced Saint Joseph’s (Maine) with 12 points and finished second in the 200-yard individual medley, while sophomore Garrett Scahill (Manville, R.I.) placed second in the 200-yard backstroke to lead Colby-Sawyer.

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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