KINGSTON, RI – The Saint Joseph's College men's and women's swim teams participated in the New England Intercollegiate Swimming & Diving Association (NEISDA) Championship at the University of Rhode Island on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
The Saint Joseph's men placed 10th with 192 team points while the SJC women finished 19th overall with 147 points in the regional championship.
On the men's side, five team records fell, with freshman Ben Johnson (Belmont, Mass.) setting new program bests in the 50-Fly (25.36), 100-Fly (55.32) and 100-IM (58.57) events and sophomore Alexander Gilvey (Windham, Maine) posting a new team-best in the 200-Back (2:02.48). Also, Johnson, Gilvey, Ian Riddell (Cape Elizabeth, Maine) and Preston Bowden (Biddeford, Maine) swam legs in the 200-Free relay, which registered a program-record 1:33.69 time in the preliminary round of the event.
In all, eight Saint Joseph's men's swimmers combined to post 26 total entries over nine individual events and five relay races.
DAY ONE
The NEISDA Championship began with the 200-Free relay and the SJC quartet of Riddell, Bowden, Gilvey and Johnson raced to an eighth-place finish with a 1:34.06) effort after posting a new team record in prelims (1:33.69).
The Monks continued to perform well on the first day, as Gilvey placed fourth in the 200-Back with a program-record 2:02.48 effort and Johnson broke the team's 100-Fly record with a 55.32 time in the prelims and raced to a 15th-place finish (56.35) in the finals.
Stewart Emery (Augusta, Maine) and Andrew Merlino (Natick, Mass.) also advanced to the 200-Back finals and placed 12th (2:12.23) and 14th (2:15.94), respectively. Senior captain Thomas Smith (New Hartford, Conn.) went on to finish 13th in the 50-Breast (31.26) and Riddell was 16th in the 50-Free (24.20).
The day closed out with the 400-Medley relay as Bowden, Johnson, Gilvey and Riddell raced to a ninth-place finish with a 3:55.37 effort.
DAY TWO
The second day, cut short due to the threat of a winter storm, saw the preliminary heats removed from the event and went straight to the finals. Gilvey, Johnson, Bowden and Riddell kicked off the day with a 10th-place effort in the 200-Medley relay (1:46.32).
Three SJC swimmers raced in the 100-Back, as Gilvey finished eighth with a 56.22 effort while Merlino and Bowden placed 14th (1:01.26) and 17th (1:01.70), respectively, in the competition. Smith placed 10th in the 1000-Free (11:07.69) while Chris Cullity (North Reading, Mass.), making his first appearance, finished 14th (11:26.63) in the same event.
Johnson broke his team 50-Fly record with a 25.36 time and placed 12th in the finals with the performance. Cullity, Bowden and Riddell also competed in the 50-Fly and placed 20th (27.10), 21st (27.31) and 25th (28.40), respectively.
Cullity, Merlino, Emery and Smith raced together to place 10th in the final event of the second day, the 800-Free relay (8:23.17).
DAY THREE
Gilvey, Merlino and Bowden started the third and final day by advancing to the 50-Back finals. Gilvey placed eighth (26.74), Merlino was 12th (27.88) and Bowden finished 16th (28.78).
Johnson broke his third team record of the three-day weekend with a 58.57 performance in the 100-IM prelims and went on to finish sixth with a 58.75 effort in the finals. Smith and Emery also swam in the 100-IM finals and finished 10th (1:02.36) and 11th (1:02.56), respectively.
Riddell, Bowden, Gilvey and Johnson capped the regional championship weekend by placing eighth in the 400-Free relay (3:28.42).
The conclusion of the NEISDA Championship signaled the end of competitive swimming for Smith and Emery, a duo that combined to race in 194 individual events over the last four years. No male in the seven-year history of the Saint Joseph's swim program has competed in more races than Smith, who totaled 104 events during his career. Only Smith and Kevin Towne '12 (97) have participated in more events than Emery, who swam in 90 races over three seasons.
Interview with Emery & Merlino
On the women's side, eight Saint Joseph's women's swimmers combined to post 13 total entries over seven individual events and five relay races. Freshman Lauren Halvorsen (South Portland, Maine) paced the Monks with 21 individual points and set several personal-bests over the weekend. SophomoreAnne Fougere (Warner, N.H.) tallied 13 points while swimming in a pair of breaststroke events while freshmen Danielle Charette (Westfield, Mass.) and Lauren Prue (Glenburn, Maine) totaled seven and four points, respectively.
DAY ONE
Charette, Brooke Huberdeau (North Andover, Mass.), Halvorsen and Erin Weir (North Andover, Mass.) opened the three-day event by placing 18th in the 200-Free relay (1:53.70) and Charette later finished 22nd in the 500-Free (5:47.47).
Fougere and Prue placed 19th (34.96) and 24th (37.08), respectively, in the 50-Breast and Pruewent on to posted a 22nd-place time in the 200-IM (2:37.85).
The quartet of Alexandra Krasco (Melrose, Mass.), Fougere, Prue and Huberdeau closed out the first day with a 17th-place finish in the 400-Medley relay (4:48.34).
DAY TWO
The second day, truncated due to an impending winter storm, forwent the preliminary heats and went straight to the finals. Starting the day was Krasco, Fougere, Charette and Weir, who combined to place 16th in the 200-Medley relay (2:07.84).
Other individuals participating on day two included Halvorsen, who placed 15th in the 1000-Free (12:02.79), Fougere, who was 18th in the 100-Breast (1:17.14), and Charette, who finished 21st in the 200-Free (2:11.44).
The foursome of Charette, Krasco, Huberdeau and Halvorsen capped day two by placing 12th in the 800-Free relay (9:02.75).
DAY THREE
The NEISDA Championship concluded on Sunday with a pair of events for Saint Joseph's, asHalvorsen opened with a 17th-place finish in the 1650-Free (20:07.98) and Charette, Weir,Halvorsen and Huberdeau swam together in the 400-Free relay event and placed 17th with a 4:04.96 effort.
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.
