Women's Swimming Defeats Boston College; Men Fall to Eagles

ORONO, Maine -- The University of Maine swimming & diving teams completed its meet with Boston College on Senior Day at Wallace Pool with the women picking up a 210-143 win while the men dropped its meet to the Eagles 276.5-75.5. Naja Harvey (Orono, Minn.) and Lauren Dwyer (Orono, Maine) each picked up a pair of victories to lead the women while Andrew Mackeil (Biddeford, Maine) tallied a win and a third place finish for the men.

Dwyer was victorious in both the 200-yard freestyle (1:56.91) and the 200-yard backstroke (2:10.83) and added a third-place showing in the 50-yard freestyle (25.35). Harvey dominated the breaststroke events, winning both the 100-yard breaststroke (1:06.67) and the 200-yard breaststroke (2:27.16).

Erica Smrcina (North Falmouth, Mass.) picked up a win in the 100-yard fly, touching the wall at 59.59 while also adding a second place finish in the 200-yard fly at 2:12.16. Carmen Linden (Ottawa, Ontario) and Lauren Thornbrough (San Diego, Calif.) each also picked up victories for the Black Bears. Linden placed first in the 500-yard freestyle at 5:15.22 while Thornbrough tallied a win in the 200-yard fly with a time of 2:09.66. Shannon Bender (Cumberland, R.I.) continued to be strong as she had a pair of second place finishes. Bender placed second in both the 200 IM (4:43.77) and the 200-yard backstroke (2:11.76). Three other Black Bears picked up individual second place finishes. Helaina Sacco (Rochester, Mass.) was second in the 200-yard freestyle (1:58.30), Abby Linn (Elkhart, Ind.) placed second in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:08.49) whle Emily Buczkowski (Woolwich, Maine) added a runner-up finish in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 25.33.

Kara Capossela (Greenwich, Conn.) continued to dominate the diving ranks as she again swept the pair of events, winning the three-meter with a score of 235.65 and the one-meter with a score of 246.45.

Despite a tough final result, the men also had several top individual performances, led by Mackeil who won the 100-yard backstroke at 56.65 and was third in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 2:05.63. Yuri Chornobil (Rochester, N.Y.) added a pair of second-place finishes, tying for second in the 200-yard freestyle (1:47.58) and placing second in the 500-yard freestyle at 4:53.05.

Brian Landry (Yorktown, Va.) added a second place finish in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:12.56 and was fourth in the 100-yard breaststroke at 1:01.72. Andrew Meehan (Brewer, Maine) picked up a pair of third place showings, placing third in both the 50-yard freestyle (22.33) and the 100-yard fly (52.82). Freshman Ryan Fahey (Quincy, Mass.) was fourth in both the 200-yard freestyle (1:47.74) and the 200-yard backstroke (2:05.92).

The Black Bear relay teams continue to be a strong point as the women swept both events while the men had a second and third place showing. Buckzkowski, Harvey, Smrcina and Jenn Trodden (Reading, Mass.) teamed up to win the 200-yard medley at 1:51.47 while Dwyer, Sacco, Kara Dubiel (Carefree, Ariz.) and Linden won the 400-yard freestyle relay at 3:39.85.

Mackeil, Landry, Eric Gaulin (Northport, Maine) and Meehan picked up a second place finish in the 200-yard medley relay at 1:38.89 while Robbie Bickford (Milford, Maine), Joey Quinn (Bangor, Maine), Chornobil and Michael Capossela (Riverside, Conn.) were third in the 400-yard freestyle relay with a final time of 3:23.58.

Prior to the meet against Boston College, the swimming and diving squads honored their 15 seniors on their four-years of dedication and hard work both inside and outside of the pool.

The women's team returns to action next weekend when they host New Hampshire at Wallace Pool on Feb. 3 beginning at 4 p.m. Both teams will then take part in the 2012 America East Swimming & Diving Championships held Feb. 23-26 at Boston University.

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