Buffalo, NY – The Rider University swimming and diving team had a big day in the pool on Thursday at the 2017 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championship at the Burt Flickinger Athletic Center at Erie Community College. On the second day of action, the Rider men set another MAAC record and the women saw three different student-athletes pick up top-three finishes.
The Rider men jumped up the standings on day two, moving into first-place with 253 points, while the women remained in second-place with 231 points. On the men's side, Marist is close behind in second place with 201 points and in third is Canisius with 178 points. Bryant is in fourth place with 171.5 points, while Niagara round out the top-five with 151 points. The Marist women remain in first place with 279 points, while the Broncs are in second. Rounding out the top-five is Canisius in third with 207 points,. Iona in fourth-place with 189 points and Niagara is fifth with 136 points.
The four-day event runs February 8-11.
For the women, junior
Julianna Runk (Baltimore, MD/Perry Hall) finished second in the 200 individual medley and redshirt freshman
Natalie Carter (Yucaipa, CA/Riverside City/Yucaipa) picked up a fourth-place finish to earn pivotal points for the Broncs. In the 50 free, senior
Ariana Palmer (Burlington, NJ/Burlington Township) ended the finals in third-place with a time of 23.85 to earn 16 points for Rider.
The Rider quartet of Palmer, freshman
Olivia Iswalt (Reading, PA/Berks Catholic), junior
Hannah Bayer (Forest Hill, MD/Bel Air) and senior
Jacquelynn Parker (Hillsborough, NJ/Hillsborough) finished fifth in the 200 free relay in the final event of the day. In the women's 3M diving event, sophomore
Breanne Hatter ( Lincroft, NJ (Middletown HS South) finished third and freshman
Meg Tomayko ( Murfreesboro, TN (Siegel) came in fourth. Hatter registered 239.25 points, while Tomayko had 223.80 points.
Junior
Zack Molloy (Toms River, NJ/Toms River HS North) had a breakout day for the Broncs, winning the 50 free with a time of 19.92. Molloy was also part of the 200 free relay quartet that took first-place and set a new conference record with a time of 1:20.40. The relay team of
Zack Molloy, senior
Matthan-Matthew Martir (Severn, MD/Old Mill), classmate
William Molloy (Toms River, NJ/Toms River HS North) and
Vincent Gibbons (North Brunswick, NJ/North Brunswick) broke the 2016 Rider record of 1:20.75 with a new record time.
Finishing behind Molloy in the 50 free were Martir in second with a time of 20.79 and junior
Maciej Paz (Garfield, NJ/Paramus Catholic) in fifth with a time of 21.03. In the 500 free, senior
Sam Cramer (Escondido, CA/San Pasqual) finished four at 4:31.52 and
William Molloy was fifth with a mark of 4:32.77. Sophomore
Lucas Musselman (Timonium, MD/Loyola Blakefield) earned 16 points for Rider with a third-place result in the 200 individual medley.
The Rider men are looking for their sixth straight MAAC Title and seventh overall. The Rider women are looking for their fourth overall title in the MAAC (and first since 2009) after placing runner-up for the 14th time since 1998 last year.
Day three of the MAAC Championships gets underway on Friday, February 10, with preliminary action beginning at 10:00 am.
Men's Scores Women's Scores
1. Rider 253 1. Marist 279
2. Marist 201 2. Rider 231
3. Canisius 178 3. Canisius 207
4. Bryant 171.5 4. Iona 189
5. Niagara 151 5. Niagara 136
6. Iona 137 6. Fairfield 111
7. Manhattan 93.5 7. Siena 80
8.Saint Peter's 83 8. Manhattan 75
9. Fairfield 75 9. Monmouth 64
10. Monmouth 50 10. Saint Peter's 21
