Swimming & Diving

Marist Men and Niagara Women Take Over First-Place Following Day Two of the 2024 MAAC Swimming & Diving Championships

Geneva, OH (Feb. 15, 2024) – Following day two’s competition at the 2024 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Men’s and Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships at SPIRE Academy in Geneva, Ohio, the lead has changed hands on both standings. Marist College now sits in first-place on the men’s side and Niagara University has taken control of the women’s leaderboard.  
 
Niagara women’s team used a record breaking night to move three spots up from fourth-place to first-place, winning three gold medals and a tallying a total of five medals on Thursday. To begin the dominating night, freshman Mary Carl earned gold in the Women's 500 Free, with a MAAC best time of 4:55.56. In the Women's 200 IM, the Purple Eagles claimed the top-2 spots, with Alaina Pitton (2:02.24) earning gold and Chloe Vlaeminck (2:03.20) winning silver. To cap off the night, Niagara’s Women's 200 Free Relay team set the new MAAC standard by finishing with a time of 1:33.94, to break the previous record of 1:34.04, which was set by Niagara just two years ago in 2022. The record breaking quartet featured Pitton, Megan Jackson, Claire Gorton, and Paige South. Also in women’s action, Fairfield’s Nora Segurola Larrinaga took first in the Women's 50 Free by logging a time of 23:43 to earn the gold.
 
On the men’s side, Marist surpassed Rider for the top position on the leaderboard by scoring a sweep of the medals in the Men’s 200 IM. Taking gold was Chris Dauser (1:47.69), finishing in second was James Conable (1:47.96), and securing the bronze medal was Jack Cimorelli (1:49.50) for the Red Foxes. Michael Faughnan of Iona defended his title in the Men's 500 Free, winning the race for the second straight year with a championship time of 4:20.64. Mount St. Mary’s Austin Toland had a finishing time of 20.13 for a gold medal victory in the Men's 50 Free. Swimming events concluded on the night with the Men's 200 Free Relay, which was taken by the Niagara group of Levi Morgan, Jake Wade, Reid Tichy, and Nathan Dragon in a time of 1:20.19.
 
In the lone diving event of the night, the Men's 3-Meter Dive, Fairfield recorded the top-2 scores led by individual champion, Andrew Cataldo who scored a 289.05 and silver medalist Dillon O’Connor who scored a 284.15.
 
Team Standings
Men Women
1 Marist 241 1 Niagara 251
2 Niagara 195.5 2 Fairfield 239
3 Fairfield 189.5 3 Marist 209
4 Rider 185 4 Canisius 140
5 Iona 159 5 Mount St. Mary’s 131.5
6 Mount St. Mary’s 117 6 Siena 122.5
7 Canisius 116 7 Rider 113
8 Saint Peter’s 77 8 Iona 112
9 Manhattan 54 9 Manhattan 63
10 Saint Peter’s 28
 
Day 2 Event Results
Event Name Institution Time/Score
Women's 500 Free Mary Carl Niagara 4:55.56
Men's 500 Free Michael Faughnan Iona 4:20.64
Women's 200 IM Alaina Pitton Niagara 2:02.24
Men’s 200 IM Chris Dauser Marist 1:47.69
Women's 50 Free Nora Segurola Larrinaga Fairfield 23.43
Men's 50 Free Austin Toland Mount St. Mary’s 20.13
Men's 3-Meter Dive Andrew Cataldo Fairfield 289.05
Women's 200 Free Relay Alaina Pitton, Megan Jackson, Claire Gorton, Paige South Niagara 1:33.94*
Men's 200 Free Relay Levi Morgan, Jake Wade, Reid Tichy, Nathan Dragon Niagara 1:20.19
MAAC Record*
 
The 2024 MAAC Men's & Women's Swimming & Diving Championships resume tomorrow, Friday, February 16 at 10 a.m. All action throughout the entire championship will be streamed live via ESPN+.
 
For all information regarding the 2024 MAAC Men's & Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships, please visit http://maacsports.com/swim.
 
About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference:
With 11 institutions strongly bound by the sound principles of quality and integrity in academics and excellence in athletics, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) is in its 43rd year of competition during the 2023-24 academic year. Current conference members include: Canisius University, Fairfield University, Iona University, Manhattan College, Marist College, Mount St. Mary’s University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Saint Peter’s University, and Siena College. Merrimack College and Sacred Heart University will join the MAAC as full members in the 2024-25 academic year, expanding the conference to 13 institutions.
 
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