METRO ATLANTIC ATHLETIC CONFERENCE (MAAC)
- Wednesday, February 12 – Saturday, February 15
- Erie Community College, Buffalo, NY (Eastern Time Zone)
- Defending Champion: Rider men (8x) & Fairfield women (2x) (Results: 1, 2, 3, 4)
- Live results
- Live Video
- Championship Central
The MAAC Championships continued on Thursday with the 500 free, 200 IM, 50 free, and 200 free relay. The Rider men and Fairfield women have now pulled into the lead. Freshman Matt Lequang won the 500 free for Rider, posting his first best time in the event since 2018. His winning time of 4:25.94 was a best by a second and a half. In the women’s 500 free, Marist’s Sidney Judson made her move on the final 100 to win in 4:59.67, swimming past Fairfield’s Shannon Feeley (5:00.29) and 2019 champion Sara Ostensen (5:00.37). That was Judson’s first time under 5:00.
Bryant’s Matthew Mays, the 2019 bronze medalist, held off Saint Peter’s freshman Luke Cillie, 1:47.49 to 1:47.51, for the 200 IM win. He was within a second of the MAAC Record set last season by Bryant’s Micah Ornelas. That was nearly a 4 second drop for Mays. The women’s event also saw the previous season’s bronze medalist take the 2020 win. Rider’s Kayla May picked up a win in 2:04.34 over Fairfield’s 2019 champ Morgan Hansen (2:05.62). May swam a best by over 2 seconds.
Fairfield’s Maria Nitti won the women’s 50 free in 23.17, just 2 tenths shy of the conference record and a best by 3 tenths. That’s her 3rd-straight title in the event. Monmouth freshman Blake Reynolds out-touched Rider freshman Daniel Bonge, dropping half a second in 20.44 to Bonge’s 20.48, to win the men’s 50.
In the 200 free relay, the women’s race came down to the wire. Iona’s Aly Chain anchored in 23.11 to bring them from behind for a 1:35.00 win, hundredths ahead of Fairfield (1:35.06). Rider’s Bonge led off for the winning men in 20.72. They were behind at the 100, but Rich Fortels split a 19.89 on the 3rd leg to give them the edge as they won in 1:21.35. Bryant (1:21.75) was a close 2nd with a 20.03 from Mays on the 2nd leg.
WOMEN’S SCORES THROUGH DAY 2
- Fairfield University 228
- Canisius College 194
- Marist College Swimming/Diving 189
- Iona College 172
- Rider University 166
- Monmouth University 139
- Niagara University 123
- Siena College 76
- Saint Peter’s University 67
- Manhattan College 56
MEN’S SCORES THROUGH DAY 2
- Rider University 255
- Marist College Swimming/Diving 200
- Bryant University 188
- Iona College 159
- Saint Peter’s University 138
- Monmouth University 133
- Canisius College 111.5
- Fairfield University 101
- Manhattan College 69
- Niagara University 55