Full meet results available here.
The UMBC Retrievers are the 2015 America East Swimming & Diving Champions. The Retrievers trailed the Wildcats by two points entering Sunday’s events, but key top finishes propelled the Retrievers to their first conference title since 2011.
In the opening preliminary race, Vermont’s Ilsa Feierabend won the top qualifying spot in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 2:02.34. New Hampshire seniors Nicole Anderson and Oneida Cooper finished tied for second, both touching the sensor at 2:03.59.
New Hampshire’s Elizaveta Baykova paced the 100-yard freestyle prelim in a time of 50.36. Binghamton’s Caitlyn Kelly, the 50-yard freestyle champion, placed second, exactly one second behind Baykova. Vermont had three swimmers make the final, headlined by Sarah Mantz who seized fourth in the heat (52.04).
The 200-yard breaststroke preliminary races were dominated by UMBC’s Emily Escobedo’s finishing time. The sophomore finished with a time of 2:10.51, nearly eight seconds faster than New Hampshire junior Bettina Caspersen who took second in 2:18.29. Escobedo’s time sets a new America East championship conference record.
The Wildcats had only one swimmer qualify for the final in the 200-yard butterfly, but it was their senior Katie Mann. Mann won her heat and qualified with fastest pace of 2:00.52. UMBC had three swimmers qualify in the top eight, led by sophomore Hannah Sutherland who took second in the prelims in 2:04.63.
Jessica Harper pushed the Wildcats team lead in the day’s first scoring event, winning the 1650-yard freestyle with a time of 16:42.81. Teammate, and fellow freshman, Bridget Miller took second in 17:13.70. UMBC swept positions three through five: Carly Waters (12:18.39), Stephanie Romano (17:19.30), and Brenda Rhodes (17:22.11).
The 200-yard backstroke final saw a surprise winner. Catherine Frediani, a junior from UMBC, proved to be the catalyst that the Retrievers needed to capture the conference title. Frediani defeated the prelim winner Feierabend with a time of 2:02.76, capturing a key 20 points for her team.
There was never a doubt in both the 100-yard freestyle and 200-yard breaststroke final. Baykova improved upon her trail time in the 100-free and won the event in a blazing time of 50.18. Her teammate Sarah Broderick swam into second place with a mark of 50.74. In the 200-yard breaststroke, it was Escobedo who decided it was time to add another first place finish to her belt. Finishing just three-hundredths of a second behind her record-breaking prelim time, the sophomore won the final with ease, beating out runner up Corinne Zotter of Binghamton (2:18.16).
Mann added to her storybook America East career winning her final individual race in conference competition. The 200-yard butterfly was never in a doubt as the senior led from start to finish, ending with a time of 1:59.96. UMBC’s Hannah Sutherland finished second (2:03.07), and Maine’s Taylor Sharp took third (2:05.69).
In the final event of the 2015 America East Swimming & Diving Championship was the 400-yard freestyle relay. The Wildcats destroyed the previous conference championship record, besting the competition in 3:22.55. Baykova, Harper, Mann and Broderick teamed together and took down the old record set at 3:23.53 by Boston University in 2010.
Here are the final point totals for the 2015 America East Swimming & Diving Championship:
1. UMBC: 791
2. New Hampshire: 777
3. Vermont: 662
4. Binghamton: 470.5
5. Maine: 433.5
The award winner for the championship’s Most Outstanding Swimmer went to UMBC Sophomore Emily Escobedo. The back-to-back award winner won three individual events throughout the championship: the 200-yard IM, 100-yard breaststroke, and 200-yard breaststroke. Escobedo set new conference championship records in all her individual events in addition to placing first.
Maggie Preston of the University of Vermont was named the Most Outstanding Diver of the Week. The Catamount junior finished fourth in the one-meter dive with a tally of 236.65, and took first place in the three-meter scoring a 260.15.
The championship’s Most Outstanding Rookie award went to Baykova of UNH. The Moscow, Russia native had successful championship; a member of the winning 800-yard, 200-yard freestyle, and 400-yard medley relay teams; finished second in the 50-yard freestyle, and first in the 100-yard and 200-yard freestyle.
Mann was the recipient of the David Alexander coach’s award, which is given to the senior student-athlete who has accumulated the most points during her four-year career at the conference championship. Mann finished her career with 213 points while competing at the America East Championship.
In addition to the David Alexander award, Mann also earned the Elite 18 Award, which is given to a student exemplifying excellence, both in their sport, and in the classroom. As an English major with an accumulative GPA of 3.89, Mann proved she is a force to be wrecking with both in the classroom and pool.