GENEVA, OH–The Saint Peter's swimming and diving programs opened day one of the MAAC Championships with competition in the 200 medley relay and 800 freestyle relay Wednesday evening at the SPIRE Aquatics Center.
Through five events, Marist (207), Sacred Heart (204), and Rider (149) lead the women's standings, while Iona (118), Fairfield (116), and Rider (106) pace the men. Saint Peter's currently sits 11th on the women's side and eighth on the men's side.
WOMEN'S RESULTS
Madison Petricevic led off the women's 200 medley relay with the fourth-fastest backstroke split of the session (26.12).
Gwendolyn Mendez followed on breaststroke (31.26),
Paige Austin-Burrows swam the butterfly leg (24.26), and
Maddie McKinney anchored with a 24.11 split, stopping the clock at 1:45.75 for 10th overall. The time ranks fifth all-time in program history.
Fairfield captured first in 1:41.22, followed by Niagara (1:41.27) and Marist (1:42.34).
In the 800 freestyle relay, Mendez led off in 2:00.69, followed by
Eloise Schirtzinger (2:03.74),
Niela Dawlett (2:06.01), and McKinney, who anchored with the fastest split on the team (1:57.00). The quartet finished in 8:07.44 for 11th, ranking seventh all-time in program history.
Niagara claimed gold in record-setting fashion, shaving nearly two seconds off the MAAC record the Purple Eagles set last year with a time of 7:21.72. Fairfield placed second (7:23.29), followed by Canisius (7:33.12).
MEN'S RESULTS
Juan Nunez opened the 200 medley relay for the men with a 23.20 split.
Victor Fuentes followed on breaststroke (25.56),
Ashton Smith swam the butterfly leg (22.11), and rookie
Nikita Kaminskas anchored in 21.29. The squad finished in 1:32.16 for eighth overall.
Iona took gold in 1:26.89, followed by Rider (1:27.48) and Mount St. Mary's (1:27.81).
Nunez led off the 800 freestyle relay with a 1:41.96 split.
Patch Robinson followed in 1:43.11,
Jeffrey Thompson posted a 1:45.46 on the third leg, and
Austin Carducci anchored in 1:46.11. The Peacocks finished seventh overall in 6:56.64.
Fairfield won the event in 6:30.60, followed by Marist (6:33.55) and Iona (6:35.59).
DAY TWO
Thursday's preliminary session begins with the 500 freestyle, 200 individual medley, and 50 freestyle, and concludes with the men's 3-meter dive. Prelims are set to begin at 10 a.m.
The top 16 times in each event will advance to the evening finals, which will also feature the men's and women's 200 freestyle relays. Finals are scheduled for 6 p.m. and will be streamed on ESPN+.
