Vermont Women, UMBC Men Claim Top Spot At NJIT Invitational

2022 NJIT Invitational

• October 14-15, 2022
• Newark, N.J.
• SCY (25 yards)
• Results

FINAL TEAM SCORES

Men

1. UMBC – 1232 points
2. NJIT – 987.5 points
3. SFBK – 652.5 points

Women

1. UVM – 1348 points
2. UMBC – 887 points
3. SFBK – 738 points

Courtesy: UVM Athletics

NEWARK, NJ – The Catamounts continued a strong performance Saturday at the NJIT Invitational at the NJIT Wellness and Events Center to gain the first place finish. Vermont earned three individual victories and swept the 200 medley and 400 free relay on Saturday, finishing the two-day invitational with 1348 points. UMBC finished in second with 887 points while St. Francis finished third with 738.

RELATED LINKS
Saturday Results (.pdf)
Full Results (.pdf)

COACH’S QUOTE
“I am pleased with the continued growth from these athletes from week to week,” said Head Coach Gerry Cournoyer. The goal for this weekend was for each one of them to work on the small details and they did that. We all learned a lot and we look forward to continuing to grow throughout the season.”

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Catamounts again got off to a hot start on Saturday morning earning a victory in the 200 medley relay, the first event of the day. Autumn Bullinger, Natale Schlemmer, Hally Laney and Mina Poppas lead the way finishing in a time of 1:49.24.
• Jackie House earned another individual victory on the season taking the 500 free in a time of 5:04.34 just ahead of her teammate Mina Poppas.
• Poppas continued her strong senior campaign earning a victory in the 100 free with a time of 53.22. She also finished second in the 500 free with a time of 5:08.63. The Catamounts would make it a sweep of the 500 with Ella Church, Emily Rocco and Dayle Snively rounding out the rest of the top five.
• Chloe Smith earned a score of 183.20 in the one meter dive which was good for fourth place.
• Natalie Schlemmer remained strong in her first-year season with a pair of tight second place finishes. She placed second in the 200 IM in 2:11.14 just behind the lead time of 2:10.86. Schlemmer also was right there in a thrilling 200 breaststroke battle finishing second in a time of 2:24.64 with her competitor UMBC sophomore Elayna Pistrin finishing in 2:24.07.
• The Catamounts made another sweep in the 100 butterfly earning the top four spots. Hally Laney earned another victory on the season finishing in a time of 58.22, while Jenny O’Neil (59.45), Abby Miller (59.60) and Cassie Woodson (59.72) rounding out the top four placements.
• Vermont ended the weekend much like they started it, earning a victory in the 400 free relay in dominating fashion. The combination of Jackie House, Autumn Bullinger, Anna Shoudt and Mina Poppas took home the victory in a time of 3:34.22, almost five seconds ahead of the field.

WHO’S NEXT
Vermont will begin their America East slate with the first conference meet of the season at New Hampshire on Saturday, October 22. The start time for the meet is schedule for 12 p.m. and it will be streamed on AmericaEast.TV.

Courtesy: UMBC Athletics

Newark, N.J. – The UMBC men’s swimming and diving squad captured 13 of 20 events at the NJIT Invitational on Friday and Saturday at the Fitness and Wellness Center.

The Retrievers won all four relays over two days and freshman diver Anders Logas won both diving events. In the pool, graduate student Tiago Asakawa and junior Dani Nicusan were double-winners.

The Retrievers produced a bid day on Friday, winning both relays and four other events. The 200 freestyle relay quartet of Gabe Laracuente, Asakawa, Niklas Weigelt and Bode Neal cruised to victory in a time of 1:23.63.

Three Retriever veterans earned golds as junior Dani Nicusan captured the 200 freestyle, Weigelt earned gold in the 200 freestyle and Asakawa triumphed in the 50 freestyle.

Logas continued his outstanding early season form, winning the 3-meter diving event with a score of 249.80.

UMBC capped Friday’s competition with a victory in the 400 medley relay. Junior Ryan Harding, Nicusan, sophomore Oliver Gassmann and Weigelt cruised to first with a mark of 3:26.22.

On Saturday, Logas bested five other competitors on the 1-meter board with a mark of 258.85.

The 200 medley relay quartet of Harding, Nicusan, Gassmann and Neale edged NJIT’s top squad at 1:33.51.

Sophomore JJ Chapman earned a victory in the 200 backstroke, touching first with a mark of 1:52.93.

Asakawa earned the double with a strong final 50 yards in the 100 freestyle, completing the four laps in 46.69.

Nicusan (1:54.16) led a UMBC 1-2-3 finish in the 200 IM, besting Chapman and Asakawa.

Laracuente edged classmate Zach Pavlou to win the 100 butterfly (51.42).

Asakawa led a come-from-behind victory in the finale, boosting teammates Neale, sophomore Christian Coleman and Weigelt in the 400 freestyle relay. Asakawa covered the final 100 yards in 45.72, more than two seconds better than St. Francis Brooklyn, which owned the lead after 300 yards.

UMBC amassed 1,232 points, followed by NJIT (987.5) and St. Francis Brooklyn (652.5).

“NJIT and SFC both have great talent and speed,” said Head Coach Matt Donovan. “They forced us to raise our efforts and helped us see where we can be this season. We have work to do and we are looking forward to all the challenges this season has to offer us.”

The Retrievers open the home schedule on Saturday, Oct. 22 when they host the United States Naval Academy. The meet gets underway at 11:00 a.m.