College Swimming and Diving
Rider at MAAC Championships – Day One
Men's 800 Free Relay – MAAC Record

BUFFALO, N.Y.—The Rider University men's and women's swimming and diving teams are competing at the four-day Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championships Wednesday-Saturday at the Burt Flickinger Athletic Center on the campus of Erie Community College.

For Rider, the three-time defending men's champion on day one, the men's 800 free relay of freshman Zack Molloy (Toms River/Toms River HS North), sophomore Sam Cramer (Escondido, Calif./San Pasqual), sophomore Michael Regan(Flower Mound, Texas/Flower Mound)  and sophomore William Molloy (Toms River/Toms River HS North) won their event on Wednesday with a Rider and MAAC meet record time of 6:38.65.  The 200 free leg (1:37.19) by Z. Molloy is also a Rider record.

In the 200 medley relay, Rider also won MAAC gold with sophomore Matthan-Matthew Martir (Severn, Md./Old Mill), junior Adam Phillips (Springville, Pa./Elk Lake), senior Shane Tubb (Swedesboro/St. Augustine Prep) and sophomore Ian Flynn (Dresher, Pa./Upper Dublin) coming in with a Rider record time of 1:30.24, besting their own MAAC gold winning medal time from last season by over a second.

"We had some great results tonight in our first session," said head coach Steve Fletcher.  "The relay performances were much faster tonight than in prior years because the meet format has changed to allow relays the first night that have been traditionally combined with other events and as a team, we were fresher.  The leg by Zack was a 200 free was a Rider and MAAC record  and the 800 free relay and 200 medley relay are also Rider records."

For the Bronc women, the four-time conference runner-up on the opening day, the 200 medley relay of senior Carlee Oswald (Henderson, Nev./Green Valley), junior Taylor Shelley (Wilmington, Del./Padua Academy), sophomore Ariana Palmer (Burlington/Burlington Township) and sophomore Jacquelynn Parker (Hillsborough) was fourth with an ECAC qualifying time of 1:47.16.

The women's 800 free relay of freshman Hannah Bayer (Forest Hill, Md./Bel Air), sophomore Courtney Reed (Colorado Springs, Colo./Liberty), junior Kaitlyn O'Connor (Beverly, Mass./Beverly) and senior Morgan Kandrac  (Hamilton/Notre Dame) was seventh with an ECAC qualifying time of 7:56.02.

The Rider men have won three straight MAAC championships with the Bronc women having finished runner-up four times in a row.

"It's a long week of competition," Fletcher said about the strong start.  "We've got to manage our racing over four days, it's good to start strong, but we've got a lot of work to do before Saturday night."

Competition continues on Thursday.

-RU-