BUFFALO, N.Y. – Matea Samardzic (Split, Croati/Ekonomsko-Birotehnicka Skola) and Jonathan Gomez (Cali, Colombia/Patrick Henry [Va.]) have been named the Most Outstanding Swimmers of the Meet at the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Swimming and Diving Championships on Saturday. Samardzic, Alexandra Sison (Jersey City, N.J./Saint Dominic Academy) and Rachel Wuko (Wildwood Crest, N.J./Wildwood Crest) each won an event on the final day of the to power the Saint Peter's women's swimming and diving team to its match standing in program history with a fourth-place finish on Saturday. Gomez won an event for the third-straight night to pace the men's swimming and diving team to a fifth-place standing.
After winning the 200 IM on Thursday and the 100 back on Friday, Samardzic completed her first league championships by winning the 200 back with a MAAC record time and an NCAA "B" cut time of 1:56.52 to earn the MAAC Female Most Outstanding Swimmer honors. It was the second time on the day Samardzic broke the MAAC record after posting a time of 1:57.18 in the preliminaries before shattering the record again in the finals.
Just like Samardzic, Gomez won an individual event each night of the championships. The freshman won the 200 IM on Thursday, the 400 IM on Friday and then ended his first MAAC Championships with a win in the 200 fly with a time of 1:48.32 to earn the MAAC Male Most Outstanding Swimmer recognition. Gomez established a new meet record and registered an NCAA "B" cut time with a time of 1:47.99 in the morning preliminary session.
Samardzic becomes the first Peacock to be named the MAAC Most Outstanding Performer while Gomez is the third Saint Peter's MAAC Male Most Outstanding Performer and the team wins the honor for the second-straight year. Lovro Bilonic received the award last season while Karl Rose was the receipent in 1994 and 1996.
Wuko set a new standard for the second time at the championships. The sophomore won the 50 free in MAAC record time on Thursday and then won the 100 free with a time of 51.13 on Saturday. Wuko set the MAAC record in the 100 free in the preliminaries with a time of 50.70.
Sison repeated as 200 breast champion with a time of 2:19.46. Sison was the event in 2013 with a time of 2:22.02.
Wuko, Sison, Marie Feneron (Molsheim, France/Lycee Henri Meck) and Samardzic wrapped up the three-day event with a second-place standing in the 400-free relay with a time of 3:28.48 to help the Peacocks match its best finish in program history with a fourth-place standing. The squad also finished fourth in 1994.
Feneron finished second in the 200 fly with a time of 2:06.52 and Anastasiia Mushtei (Dneiptopnovsh, Ukraine/Finans Deukomi) placed second in the 1650 free with a time of 17:17.62.
Christina Petrelis (Belle Mead, N.J./Montgomery) finished ninth in the 1650 free (17:55.50) and Cristina DeCisneros (Tampa, Fla./Sickles) was ninth in the 200 fly (2:09.68).
Nowras Halag (Shknin, Israel/Hofsharon) finished 12th in the 200 breast and Malia Frederickson (Larangeville, N.Y./Arlington) was 16th in the 1650 free (18:26.44).
Marist won the women's title with a score of 801 while Rider (595), Canisius (535), Saint Peter's (526), Siena (376), Iona (370), Fairfield (237), Niagara (202) and Manhattan (106) rounded out the nine-team field.
Along with Gomez's first-place performance for the men, Nicholas Riepe (Middlesex, N.J./Saint Joseph) placed second in the 1650 free with a time of 15:43.35 and Omar Hassan (Bayonne, N.J./High-Tech) was 16th in the 200 back (1:59.45).
The 400-relay team of Trey McGraw (Berkley, W. Va./Patrick Henry), Sean Dunne (Holmdel, N.J./Christian Brothers Academy), Alejandro Rubin (Caracas, Venezuela/San Ignacio) and Manuel Garcia (Mexico City, Mexico/The American Foundation School) placed second with a time of 3:08.69 to end the championships.
Rider won the men's title with a score of 735 while Marist (689), Canisius (529), Bryant (355), Saint Peter's (351), Niagara (336), Iona (307), Manhattan (240) and Fairfield rounded out the nine-team field.
This event marked the final championships for DeCisneros, Alma Lopez (Lawrenceville, Ga./Brookwood), Alex McElvaney (Lacey Township, N.J./Lacey Township) and McGraw.
