Meet Results

Staten Island, NY – The Wagner College swimming & diving team took the University of Rhode Island down to the day's last event, but the Rams edged out the Green & White by less than two-tenths of a second to seal a 155-145 win in today's non-conference meet at the Spiro Sports Center.

The win boosts the Rams dual meet record to 4-2, while the Seahawks drop their second straight, falling to just 7-3. The loss marks the first time Wagner has lost in the Spiro Sports Center since January 30, 2010, when the Seahawks fell to Central Connecticut State, 108-153.

Wagner kicked off the day strong, taking a solid second place finish in the opening 200 yard medley relay. The team of Breanne Sweeney (Staten Island, NY / Notre Dame Academy), Kelsey Thomas (Hammonton, NJ / Holy Spirit), Alanna Gibbons (Staten Island, NY / Staten Island Tech), and Samantha Sides (Cherry Hill, NJ / Cherry Hill East) finished the finals heat in 1:52.99 to pick up some opening day points.

The Seahawks rifled off a clean sweep in the next event, as sophomores Kristiana Kalibat (Princeton, NJ / Princeton High), Alexandra Cooney (Port Jervis, NY / Minisink Valley), and senior Mary Courtney Ryan (Staten Island, NY / St. Joseph Hill Academy) took the top three spots with Kalibat's time of 1:43.05 earning the first place points.

Fellow second-year Sarah Menendez (Land O'Lakes, FL / Wharton) narrowly missed out on her own first place finish in the 200 yard freestyle, as she locked up second place in 1:56.24.

Sweeney and Sides kept the points coming in the day's fourth event, as the senior co-captain earned a gold medal in the 100 yard backstroke with a time of 1:01.02, just ahead of Sides, who finished in third place in 1:02.75.

Freshman Lynn Tay (Elk Grove, CA / Bradshaw Christian) flew off the blocks in the 50 yard freestyle, darting to a first place finish in 25.42. Menendez also picked up points, coming in third place in 25.56.

Coming out of a quick break, sophomore Meredith Ketchmark (Plainsboro, NJ / West Windsor-Plainsboro) got in on the action, flying to a first place in the 100 freestyle, completing the heat in 54.05. Menendez, again, was right on the leaders' tails, as she finished in second place in 54.37.

Sweeney followed up Ketchmark's victory with her second of the day, coasting in the 200 backstroke to finish first in 2:11.28, while Kalibat sailed into second place in 2:13.41.

Sweeney's first place would be the last top-place points the Seahawks would get though, as Rhode Island's Jessica Andruzzi set a Wagner Pool record in the very next event, the 200 breaststroke, to take first place in a time of 2:28.46.

Cooney and Kalibat earned second and third place points in the 500 freestyle, before Ketchmark and Gibbons picked up silver and bronze in the 100 butterfly, as the two teams entered the final two events with the overall score knotted up at 138 apiece.

Thomas kept the Seahawks within reach, swimming to a crucial second place finish in the 200 yard individual medley, but the Rams 400 freestyle relay team snapped another Wagner Pool record en route to their third straight dual meet victory, 155-145.

Prior to the swimming events, the Wagner diving team helped give its swimmers a slight advantage, as freshman Mallory Lee (Newark, CA / Moreau Catholic) continued her campaign for rookie of the year, winning both the one and three-meter boards. Lee posted a 196.57 on the one meter, before scoring a 170.02 on the three.

Freshman Marikate Villano (Cheshire, CT / Cheshire) and sophomore Josephine Ieraci (Staten Island, NY / Notre Dame Academy) also scored well for the Seahawks on both boards, with Villano posting a 142.05 and 156.52, and Ieraci scoring a 134.77 and 152.77.

“Wagner diving had a strong showing today coming off a terrific training trip last week,” said diving coach Kelly Mohr. “I was extremely impressed with how the girls handled themselves and the new dives they completed.”

"It was an honor to coach against my friend and mentor Mick Westcott,” said head coach Colin Shannahan, who coached alongside Westcott for eight years before coming to Grymes Hill. “It was a great meet and I couldn't be prouder of our girls. This meet was a big step forward for our program."

The Seahawks wrap up their regular season next weekend when they play host to Central Connecticut State at 2:00 p.m. Prior to the start of the meet, Wagner will acknowledge its five seniors, who will be competing in their final home meet of their collegiate careers.