2008 Woodie Awards
Upperclassmen lead Marist to MAAC Championship
Casey Lane
Issue date: 2/15/07 Section: Sports
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The Marist men's swimming and diving team won its third MAAC championship in as many years on Saturday on the campus of Loyola College.
Marist finished the three-day tournament with 797 points. Rider University came in second place with 684.5 points, while Loyola finished in third with 574.5 points.
After the first day of the tournament, Rider held a .5 point lead over Marist. By the end of the second day, the Red Foxes had a 113 point lead.
Head coach Larry VanWagner was not worried about trailing Rider after day one.
"We had four swimmers out of the possible 13 that had not swum an event yet," VanWagner said. "We had more potential scorers going in to the second and third day, and that's why you saw the difference of going in a half point down to taking a 113 point lead."
Senior Pat Collins and junior Greg Jablonski keyed the Marist effort to victory on the third day of the tournament. Collins won the 100-yard freestyle by finishing in 45.70 seconds. Jablonski set the school record in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:04.60 while finishing in second place.
In diving, junior Devon O'Nalty took second place on the one-meter board. Freshman Mitchell Katz took a fourth place finish and was followed by junior Jesus Santos who finished in fifth. Junior John Luboja finished in seventh.
Heading into the championship short-handed, VanWagner relied on the upperclassmen to lead the team throughout the weekend.
"Of the 16 swimmers, we had three walk-ons that we knew were probably not going to score any points, so the number of potential point scorers was reduced down to 17," VanWagner said. "We had such a tremendous upper-class, particularly our senior class that could take the burden of getting us through the three-day championship."
The Red Foxes opened the second day by taking the top three spots in the 1,000-yard freestyle. Sophomore Spencer Hartmann took first place with a time of 9:39.39. Junior Ralph Rienzo finished in second by swimming in a time of 9:40.61 while Senior Nick Chevalier rounded out the top three with a time of 9:49.66.
According to VanWagner, the 1,000-yard freestyle was the turning point of the tournament.
"We went from being down half a point to being up by 53 points in one single event," VanWagner said.
Collins, senior Will Shearouse, Rienzo and Jablonski finished the tournament for Marist by winning the 400-yard freestyle relay team with a time of 3:06.37.
The Red Foxes will now turn their attention to the three-day ECAC Championships at Harvard on Friday, where they finished third last season.
Marist finished the three-day tournament with 797 points. Rider University came in second place with 684.5 points, while Loyola finished in third with 574.5 points.
After the first day of the tournament, Rider held a .5 point lead over Marist. By the end of the second day, the Red Foxes had a 113 point lead.
Head coach Larry VanWagner was not worried about trailing Rider after day one.
"We had four swimmers out of the possible 13 that had not swum an event yet," VanWagner said. "We had more potential scorers going in to the second and third day, and that's why you saw the difference of going in a half point down to taking a 113 point lead."
Senior Pat Collins and junior Greg Jablonski keyed the Marist effort to victory on the third day of the tournament. Collins won the 100-yard freestyle by finishing in 45.70 seconds. Jablonski set the school record in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:04.60 while finishing in second place.
In diving, junior Devon O'Nalty took second place on the one-meter board. Freshman Mitchell Katz took a fourth place finish and was followed by junior Jesus Santos who finished in fifth. Junior John Luboja finished in seventh.
Heading into the championship short-handed, VanWagner relied on the upperclassmen to lead the team throughout the weekend.
"Of the 16 swimmers, we had three walk-ons that we knew were probably not going to score any points, so the number of potential point scorers was reduced down to 17," VanWagner said. "We had such a tremendous upper-class, particularly our senior class that could take the burden of getting us through the three-day championship."
The Red Foxes opened the second day by taking the top three spots in the 1,000-yard freestyle. Sophomore Spencer Hartmann took first place with a time of 9:39.39. Junior Ralph Rienzo finished in second by swimming in a time of 9:40.61 while Senior Nick Chevalier rounded out the top three with a time of 9:49.66.
According to VanWagner, the 1,000-yard freestyle was the turning point of the tournament.
"We went from being down half a point to being up by 53 points in one single event," VanWagner said.
Collins, senior Will Shearouse, Rienzo and Jablonski finished the tournament for Marist by winning the 400-yard freestyle relay team with a time of 3:06.37.
The Red Foxes will now turn their attention to the three-day ECAC Championships at Harvard on Friday, where they finished third last season.
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