RIVERDALE, NY– The Saint Peter's men's and women's swimming programs opened the 2026 calendar year against MAAC opponent Manhattan Saturday afternoon at the Jeffrey H. Loria Family Aquatic Center at Horace Mann School. The Peacocks swept the Jaspers for the second time this season, with the women earning a 147-82 victory and the men claiming a 142-118 win.
Both squads controlled the meet from start to finish, combining for 18 event wins across 28 races, with each team earning nine golds. Saint Peter's also won the first six events of the day.
Maddie McKinney and
Gwendolyn Mendez led the Peacocks with three individual wins apiece. McKinney swept the 50 and 100 backstroke and added a victory in the 500 freestyle, while Mendez captured gold in the 200 IM, 50, and 100 breaststroke.
WOMEN'S HIGHLIGHTS
The 200 medley relay team of
Madison Petricevic, Mendez,
Paige Austin-Burrows, and
Elettra Dalcerri opened the meet with gold, touching in 1:52.72–nearly three seconds ahead of the field.
The 500 freestyle was a Peacock-only event, with McKinney winning by more than ten seconds in 5:28.42.
Eloise Schirtzinger placed second (5:38.92), followed by
Hailey Zeszotarski in third (6:05.83).
Mendez led a sweep in the 200 IM, winning in 2:18.70 ahead of Dalcerri (2:28.38) and
Michelle Kaminskas (2:31.79, PR).
In the 50 freestyle, Petricevic earned silver in 26.13, while
Niela Dawlett finished fourth in 27.29, and
Leah Cunas placed seventh (30.77). The 100 butterfly was another Peacock-only race, led by Austin-Burrows in 59.73, followed by
Chris Carolin Weiss (1:05.49) and Petricevic (1:06.24).
McKinney swept both backstroke events, winning the 50 in 29.51 as the only swimmer under 30 seconds and taking the 100 by more than a second in 1:02.58.
Mendez and Dalcerri went 1-2 in the 50 breaststroke (33.25, 37.03) and 1-3 in the 100 breaststroke (1:10.15, 1:17.61). Schirtzinger led the 200 freestyle with a silver in 2:06.96, followed by Weiss (2:10.22) and Petricevic (2:12.94).
Austin-Burrows earned her second individual win in the 50 butterfly, touching the wall in 26.35, being the only swimmer under 30 seconds. Kaminskas finished third in 30.05. Schirtzinger and Dawlett went 2-3 in the 100 freestyle in 58.59 and 1:00.79.
MEN'S HIGHLIGHTS
The 200 medley relay team of
Juan Nunez, Victor Fuentes, Nikita Kaminskas, and
Jeff Thompson opened the men's events with gold in 1:38.17. SPU B
(Austin Carducci, Emerson Tofel, Taj Seton-Martin, Anthony Torres) also competed, finishing in 1:46.25.
Kaminskas won the 500 freestyle in his event debut, pulling away for gold in 5:12.11. Tofel narrowly missed the podium in 5:26.69, with
Dean Lliguicota following in 5:30.70.
Nunez led a sweep in the 200 IM, winning in 1:58.07 as the only swimmer under two minutes, followed by
Ean Vellescig (2:04.27) and Carducci (2:12.78).
In the 50 freestyle, Thompson earned silver in 22.45, with Tofel (24.84) and
Paxton Gibson (24.97) also scoring. Nunez just missed gold in the 100 butterfly, placing second in 54.66. Seton-Martin (57.71, fourth) and Lliguicota (58.87, fifth) rounded out the event.
Carducci won the 50 backstroke by nearly a second in 25.93, while Torres finished in 30.29. Fuentes and Tofel went 1-3 in the 100 breaststroke, with Fuentes being the only swimmer under a minute in 59.14 and Tofel finishing in 1:05.53.
Thompson captured gold in the 200 freestyle in 1:48.99, while Kaminskas placed third in 1:55.00. Seton-Martin and Lliguicota went 2-3 in the 50 butterfly in 26.13 and 26.17.
Nunez edged Manhattan in the 100 backstroke, winning in 54.02. Fuentes and Vellescig did their signature 1-2 combo in both the 50 breaststroke (27.59, 28.32) and the 100 IM (Vellescig 56.20, Fuentes 57.57).
Thompson earned silver in the 100 freestyle in 50.69, while Kaminskas narrowly missed the podium in 50.87. Saint Peter's closed the meet with a silver in the 200 freestyle relay in 1:31.46.
UP NEXT
Saint Peter's returns to action in two weeks for its final home meet of the season on Saturday, January 24, hosting LIU, Felician, and Monmouth at the Victor R. Yanitelli, S.J. Recreational Life Center. The Peacocks will honor their six graduating seniors:
Victor Fuentes, Dean Lliguicota, Daniel Sanchez, Anthony Torres, Audrey Hill Franco, and graduate students
Ashton Smith and
Madison Petricevic.
For continuing coverage of Saint Peter's University Athletics, visit SaintPetersPeacocks.com and follow the Peacocks on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
