The first full day of individual events was packed with excitement and some quick swims, resulting in a new Conference Record in the Women’s 50 Free.
Women’s 500 Free Prelims
Tonight’s top seed is Elise Lankiewicz, the senior from Davidson who holds the A-10 Conference record as well as the pool record at 4:44.88. In prelims, she cruised to a 4:50.33 so breaking her own record tonight is not out of the question. Richmond junior Annie Lane is seeded 2nd with a time of 4:51.88 followed by St. Louis junior Mina Glenesk at 4:54.57. Duquesne has 3 swimmers in the A final with freshman Summer Svitavsky (5th at 4:55.81), freshman Lauren Devorace (6th at 4:55.93), and freshman Carson Gross (8th at 4:57.53). Richmond also placed 3 swimmers in the A final. In addition to Lane, freshman Virginia March (4th at 4:54.87) and sophomore Nicole Piercy (7th seed at 4:56.83) will be swimming tonight. 2nd place Richmond and 3rd place (tied) Duquesne are both in a good position to move up in points tonight after this event.
Paulina Watson, a freshman from Fordham, dropped 13.35 seconds and is the top seed in the B final tonight with a time of 4:59.04.
Men’s 500 Free Prelims
Only .03 seconds separate top seed Davidson junior Clay Resweber (4:27.20) and 2nd seed George Washington freshman Mortiz Fath (4:27.23) going into tonight’s final. St. Louis is tied for 1st place after last night’s relays and is hoping to increase their lead after placing 2 swimmers in the A final – junior Ryan McCoy is 3rd seed at 4:27.63 and sophomore Grant Gamroth is 5th seed at 4:28.67. Fordham also has 2 swimmers in the A final with junior Liam Semple swimming a 4:28.65 to place 4th and freshman Joe Vizza putting down a 4:29.08 to place 7th. George Mason freshman Attila Kiss was top seed going into the race and swam a 4:28.91 to place 6th in finals tonight. 8th seed is Davidson junior Cole Riggan with a 4:31.08.
La Salle sophomore Kyle McElwee dropped 11.56 seconds to swim 4:31.43 and place as top seed in the B final.
Women’s 200 IM
Richmond sophomore Morgan Soulia is top seed tonight with a time of 2:01.81, closely followed by Duquesne junior Lexi Santer at 2:01.89. Fordham senior Megan Polaha is seeded 3rd with a 2:02.17. Richmond has 2 swimmers in the A final with senior Hannah Matheson taking 4th seed with a time of 2:02.40 in addition to Soulia. 5th seed is UMass senior Meriza Werenski at 2:02.48. Rounding out the top are George Washington sophomore Emily Zhang (2:02.70), St. Bonaventure junior Devon McFadden (2:02.80), and Duquesne sophomore Abby Stauffer (2:02.99).
The top seed in the B final is Richmond freshman Hannah Gouger with a time of 2:03.94.
Men’s 200 IM
La Salle placed 3 swimmers in the A final tonight beginning with top seed junior Fabian Bergman with a time of 1:48.05. St. Bonaventure senior Michael White took 2nd seed at 1:48.11 and UMass sophomore Kyle Stefanides is seeded 3rd with a 1:49.08. Bergman’s La Salle teammates, senior Jerry Gravel (1:49.59) and senior Cameron Fadley (1:49.61) are seeded 4th and 5th with only .02 separating them. St. Louis freshman Collin O’Brien squeaked in under 1:50 with a 1:49.92 to qualify as 6th seed. Davidson junior Riley League dropped 5.83 seconds to earn 7th seed at 1:50.06 and Matthew Lynch, a George Mason junior, was 8th with a time of 1:50.60.
Top seeds in the B final tonight are George Washington freshman Emils Pone and St. Bonaventure senior Preston Schilling who tied in prelims with a 1:50.68.
Women’s 50 Free
Sydney Fisher, a George Mason senior, beat her 2016 A-10 Meet Record (22.73) with a time of 22.60. This also beat the previous A-10 Conference Record (22.64) from 2004 and the Pool Record (22.62). UMass sophomore Ansley Baker took 2nd seed at 23.34. Davidson placed 2 swimmers in the A final tonight with senior Erica Clancy (3rd) swimming a 23.42 and teammate senior Kassie Shannon (6th) swimming a 23.52. 4th seed is George Washington junior Abbey Fusco at 23.46. Sammy McDonald, a Fordham freshman, went 23.49 and is seeded 5th. Rounding out the top 8 are University of Rhode Island sophomore Eliza Anderson (23.55) and La Salle sophomore Olivia DiStefano (23.58).
Fordham sophomore Tara Brunner swam a 23.70 to earn top seed in the B final.
Men’s 50 Free
George Mason senior Zepher Begnell held onto his top seed position swimming a 20.24 in prelims. He was followed closely by Davidson junior Taylor Willenbring at 20.28. Gustav Hokfelt, a junior from George Washington, dropped over a second to jump from a 24th place seed going into the meet to the 3rd seed in the A final. Teammate Alex Auster, a George Washington sophomore, swam a 20.52 to earn 4th seed. Ryan Pedrick followed his outstanding relay swim last night by swimming a 20.61 and taking 5th seed. The final spots in the A final were earned by UMass junior Owen Wright (20.68), Fordham senior Joe Mercurio (20.73), and La Salle freshman Marcus Forsgren (20.74).
George Mason junior Alec Morin is top seed in the B final at 20.75.
After the relays Wednesday night, the point totals are tight and some of the teams are in a good position to widen the range after finals tonight.
Michelle Lombana has been a swim mom for over 15 years, serving on various boards of directors for club swimming, summer swim league, and high school swimming. She founded College Swimming Guide to help simplify the recruiting process for swimmers who want to swim in college.