STANDISH, ME – The Saint Joseph's College men's swim team recorded a 143-94 victory over University of New England at the Harold Alfond Center Pool on Monday afternoon.
Sophomore Alex Gilvey (Windham, Maine) highlighted the meet with solid victories in the 100-Back (57.24) and 500-Free (5:31.96) events and also finished as the runner-up in the 400-IM (4:47.25), shattering the program record by nearly six seconds in the demanding race.
Freshman Ben Johnson (Belmont, Mass.) won the 100-Breast (1:09.22) and 200-IM (2:13.62) events and also placed second in the 100-Fly (56.58) while fellow first-year Ian Riddell (Cape Elizabeth, Maine) recorded a victory in the 100-Free (54.15) and was second in the 50-Free (24.64) race.
Junior Chris Cullity (North Reading, Mass.) won the 200-Free by over 10 seconds with a 2:06.01 time and placed second in the 500-Free (5:33.10).
Junior Preston Bowden (Biddeford, Maine) was the top finisher in the 50-Back (28.28) and sophomore Andrew Merlino (Natick, Mass.) was the runner-up in the event with a 29.07 performance.
Bowden also notched posted a second-place finish in the 100-Back (1:02.79) and Merlino added a runner-up time in the 50-Fly (27.92).
Seniors Thomas Smith (New Hartford, Conn.) and Stewart Emery (Augusta, Maine) placed second (31.71) and third (34.49), respectively, in the 50-Breast race. Both swimmers, competing in their last home event for the Monks, were honored with a brief Senior Day ceremony prior to the opening announcements.
Merlino, Johnson, Bowden and Riddell kicked set the tone for the event with a narrow victory in the 200-Medley relay, topping the Nor'easters' quartet by just .41 of a second. Gilvey, Cullity, Emery and Smith combined to win the 200-Free relay with a 1:41.82 effort to close out the afternoon.
Overall, the Monks won nine of 14 events against the Nor'easters' men's squad, which suits up as a club team for University of New England.
Saint Joseph's resumes action next Saturday when the team travels to Husson University for a 1:00 PM start versus the Eagles.
Saint Joseph's College is Maine's only Catholic liberal arts college, providing a supportive, personalized and career-focused education for more than 100 years. From its 430-acre campus on the shores of Sebago Lake, the College offers more than 40 undergraduate programs to a population of approximately 1,000 students. Saint Joseph's College Online provides certificates, undergraduate and advanced degrees for working adults through an online learning program. For more, visit www.sjcme.edu.
