Marist Swimming and Diving Releases 2016-17 Schedule

POUGHKEEPSIE, New York – Marist Head Men’s and Women’s Swim Coach Larry VanWagner and Associate Head Coach/Diving Head Coach Melanie Bolstad released the team’s 2016-17 schedule July 7. The Red Foxes’ women’s and men’s squads will compete simultaneously in eight dual meets and battle three schools at the H2ounds Invitational during the regular season.

The Red & White Challenge will take place less than one week prior to the beginning of the regular season. The annual intrasquad scrimmage will begin at 11 a.m. Oct. 8 in McCann Natatorium and is open to the public. Marist hosts Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference foe Canisius at 10 a.m. Oct. 14 to start its regular season slate. The Red Foxes will then travel to Fordham on Oct. 20 and Fairfield onNov. 5. The Marist women (180-102) and men (172.5-116.5) both picked up victories against the Fairfield Stags last season in McCann Natatorium to give VanWagner his 350thcareer win.

MAAC competition continues with a home dual meet versus Rider at 1 p.m. Nov. 12. The women’s program got its 100th overall victory under VanWagner against the Broncs last season, prevailing 192-102. To close out the 2016 calendar year, the Red Foxes will compete at the H2ounds Invitational. For the seventh straight year Marist will square off against MAAC rivals Iona and Saint Peter’s as well as host Loyola at the meet. The women narrowly defeated the Greyhounds by eight points (189-181) last year while the men came down to the final two events and Marist lost by just two points, 184-182.

Following a training trip to Puerto Rico to begin 2017 the Red Foxes will host Southern Connecticut State at 1 p.m. Jan. 7. The rest of the non-conference slate is rounded out by meets at Boston College (Jan. 14) and Seton Hall (Jan. 21) and a home contest against Binghamton on Jan. 28 for Senior Day.

The 2017 MAAC Swimming and Diving Championships will be held from Feb. 8-11 at Erie Community College in Buffalo, New York. The women will look to capture their eighth straight MAAC title after securing the conference championship by the largest margin of victory in program history in 2016. The men finished in second place for the fifth straight year. Between the women and men, the Red Foxes have won a conference title for 22 of the last 23 years.

Postseason continues with the regional Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championships from Feb. 24-26 in Pittsburgh. The Marist women’s team came in fourth at last year’s meet with 330.5 points while the men’s team’s 250 points put them in seventh place. Then sophomore Peter Gallino was named Diver of the Meet after coming in second place on the 1- and 3-meter boards.

The qualifying Marist divers will conclude the season at the NCAA Zone A Diving Championships from March 6-8 on the Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg, Virginia.

Seniors Sarah Mosca and Meredith Wurtz will lead Marist’s women’s team as captains for the 2016-17 campaign while Gallino and junior Robert McDowell and senior Matt Darcy were voted men’s captains. The women will look to build on their streak of 35 straight MAAC dual meet wins dating back to 2009. The men are 96-19 all time in conference dual meets. Live results from all Marist regular season home meets as well as postseason competitions will be available on the Meet Mobile app.

The upcoming academic year will feature Marist swimming and diving’s largest combined men’s and women’s roster in program history.

Swimming news courtesy of Marist Swimming and Diving.