Meet Results

Staten Island, NY – The Wagner College swimming and diving team opened up its 2011-2012 season with a bang, cruising past Northeast Conference (NEC) foe Bryant, 180-78, in the Seahawks season opener today at the Spiro Sports Center.

Wagner began the day picking up second and third place points in the 200 medley relay, as the team of Breanne Sweeney (Staten Island, NY / Notre Dame Academy), Patricia Gavin (Staten Island, NY / Staten Island Tech), Alanna Gibbons (Staten Island, NY / Staten Island Tech) and Samantha Sides (Cherry Hill, NJ / Cherry Hill East) missed out on the gold by .03 seconds.

The Green & White took gold and silver in the next two events with Alexandra Cooney (Port Jervis, NY / Minisink Valley) and Kristiana Kalibat (Princeton, NJ / Princeton High) going 1-2 in the 1000 free, before Meredith Ketchmark (Plainsboro, NJ / West Windsor-Plainsboro) and Sarah Menendez (Land O'Lakes, FL / Wharton) took the top two spots in the 200 freestyle. Ketchmark also finished first in the 100 butterfly.

Sophomore Kelsey Thomas (Hammonton, NJ / Holy Spirit) earned herself two first place finishes, taking the 100 and 200 breaststroke events, while both Kristen Lee (Cherry Hill, NJ / Cherry Hill East) and Gavin also picked up points in the two events.

Wagner picked up some support from its newcomers, as freshmen Lynn Tay (Elk Grove, CA / Bradshaw Christian) earned a first place finish in the 50 freestyle, and Amanda Saber (Morgan Hill, CA / Archbishop Mitty) took third in the 500 freestyle.

"The girls swam well above my expectations today," first year head coach Colin Shannahan said. "It was a great start to our season."

The Seahawks diving team also performed strong, as junior Josephine Ieraci (Staten Island, NY / Notre Dame Academy) and freshmen Mallory Lee (Newark, CA / Moreau Catholic) and Marikate Villano (Cheshire, CT / Cheshire) picked up valuable points, leading to Wagner's decisive 180-78 victory. Lee set school records on one and three meter boards, scoring a 223.50 on the one, and 175.95 on the three. Ieraci took silver in the one meter, with a 166.50, and a bronze on the three meter, scoring a 126.825. Villano finished less than two points shy of second place on the one meter with a 164.625, and posted a 126.825 for a third place finish on the three.

"Today was a huge day for Wagner diving," head coach Kelly Mohr said. "Not only did the girls compete in the first ever home diving meet, but they did exactly what they needed to do for their team. We had some great performances today and I could not be more proud of their efforts and excited for next weekend."

Wagner will take to the pool again next weekend when the Seahawks travel to Mount St. Mary's for another NEC dual meet. That contest is scheduled to start at 1:00 p.m. While the swim team is at The Mount, the Seahawks diving squad will travel to Central Connecticut State.