Buffalo, N.Y. – The Rider University swimming and diving team opened the 2017 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championship on Wednesday evening at the Burt Flickinger Athletic Center at Erie Community College. On the first day of action, the Rider men set a new MAAC record and the women took home a first-place finish as well.
Both the Bronc men and women currently sit in second-place heading into the second day of competition. The Rider men are tied with Bryant with 88 points, while the Rider women have 70 points. On the men's side, Canisius is in first-place with 104 points, while Marist is on the top of the women's leaderboard with 74 points.
The four-day event runs February 8-11.
In the 200 medley relay, the Rider women finished first with a time of 1:44.57. The Bronc quartet of sophomore
Taylor Stalnaker (Monroe, NY/Monroe-Woodbury), junior
Julianna Runk (Baltimore, MD/Perry Hall), senior
Ariana Palmer (Burlington, NJ/Burlington Township) and classmate
Jacquelynn Parker (Hillsborough, NJ/Hillsborough) finished nearly three seconds ahead of second-place Marist. The Rider women defended their first-place finish from last season at the event.
On the men's side, Rider finished second in the 200 medley relay. For the Broncs, freshman
Justin Carey (Landenberg, PA/Avon Grove), senior
Zach Mabin (Hamilton, NJ/Steinert), junior
Zack Molloy (Toms River, NJ/Toms River HS North) and senior
Matthan-Matthew Martir (Severn, MD/Old Mill) finished behind first-place Bryant with a time of 1:30.33.
The men had their strongest showing of the day in the 800 free relay, setting a new MAAC record with an impressive time of 6:31.70. The quartet of senior
William Molloy (Toms River, NJ/Toms River HS North), sophomore
Vincent Gibbons (North Brunswick, NJ/North Brunswick), senior
Sam Cramer (Escondido, CA/San Pasqual) and
Zack Molloy finished the race over nine seconds faster than second-place Iona.
The women ended the first day of action with a fourth-place finish in the 800 free relay with a time of 7:47.29.
Rider sophomore
Joseph Warker (Reading, PA/Wilson) finished fifth in the 1M diving finals with a score of 262.75.
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.
The Broncs continue the four-day event on Thursday, February 8, with preliminary action starting at 10:00 am.
Men's Scores Women's Scores
1. Canisius 104 1. Marist 74
2. Bryant 88 2. Rider 70
2. Rider 88 3. Canisius 66
4. Niagara 77 4. Iona 60
5. Marist 64 5. Siena 54
6. Iona 60 6. Niagara 52
7. Saint Peter's 58 7. Fairfield 50
8. Manhattan 56 8. Manhattan 42
9. Fairfield 47 9. Monmouth 40
10. Monmouth 32 10. Saint Peter's 0
