KINGS POINT, N.Y., Feb. 22, 2016 – This past weekend, the USMMA men’s and women’s swimming & diving teams vied in the competitive Metropolitan Collegiate Championship Meet at Rutgers University along with an NCAA Division I school, and many other Division II and III schools as well. The Mariner men placed fifth overall at the event (third amongst D3 teams), while the women came in eight place (fifth amongst D3 teams).

At the three-day event, the Mariner women had five different Academy records broken, one swimmer and one diver both earned NCAA D3 qualifying marks towards Nationals and junior diver Blythe Fentress (Shady Shores, Texas) picked up the Mariners only first-place finish of the meet in the three-meter dive. Fentress set a new mark of 492.25 in the preliminaries of the three-meter dive event, while freshman Tyler Wickesberg (Albuquerque, N.M.) set new Academy records in the 50 freestyle (24.57), 100 back (57.34) and 100 free (53.16).

The 800 freestyle relay squad of Wickesberg, freshman Ella Sherrill (Ketchikan, Alaska), junior Jolyn Green (Riverside, Calif.) and sophomore Liz Grove (Winchester, Va.) also broke the Academy record by finishing with a time of 8:04.72, almost four seconds ahead of the previous mark.

On the men’s side, five Mariners recorded NCAA qualifying marks towards Nationals and one Academy record was broken as senior diver Gerrit Porter (Houston, Texas) recorded a score of 563.75 in the preliminaries of the one-meter dive competition. Porter earned NCAA qualifying marks in the one- and three-meter diving events.

Junior Stone Hewitt (Destin, Fla.) made the NCAA marks in the 100 and 200 breaststroke events. Sophomore Adam Fisher (Edgerton, Wisc.) earned a spot at diving regionals in the one-meter dive. Freshman Christopher Kahl (Solomons, Md.) recorded a D3B cut time in the 200 backstroke and junior Karl Sasse (Frederick, Md.) had an NCAA qualifying time in the 100 breaststroke.

In other athletic news this week, the Landmark Conference announced the postseason honors for men’s and women’s swimming & diving and the men’s squad boasted the Diver of the Year (Porter), Rookie of the Year (Kahl) and Coaching Staff of the Year (head coach Sean Tedesco and diving coach Johan Lopez). Five Mariner men earned First Team All-Landmark honors with first-place finishes at the 2016 Landmark Championships: Hewitt, Kahl, Porter, senior William Kelsik (New Castle, Ind.) and freshman Matheus Macedo (Elk Grove, Calif.). 10 Mariners landed on the All-Landmark Second Team with second-place finishes at the Landmark Championships.

On the women’s side, Fentress earned Diver of the Year honors and both she and Wickesberg earned First Team All-Landmark accolades with first-place finishes at the Landmark Championships. Wickesberg, junior Jolyn Green (Riverside, Calif.) and freshman Kara Korengel (Cincinnati, Ohio) all earned Second Team honors.

The Centennial Conference announced the postseason honors for wrestling and the Mariners had four wrestlers honored, including two that were praised for the academics as well. Senior Ricky Fisher (Nashville, Tenn.) and junior Nathan Twito (Ames, Iowa) landed on the First Team All-Conference after their individual championships at 197 and 149, respectively, this past weekend at the Centennial Championships. Both Fisher and Twito were also named to the Academic Honor Roll, which recognizes sophomores, juniors and seniors who are All-Conference members and have a 3.40 cumulative grade point average or higher.

Senior Mike Mui (Hingham, Mass.) and freshman Brandon Joest (Kendallville, Ind.) both earned All-Centennial honorable mention accolades for their second-place finishes at 125 and 285, respectively, at the Centennial Championships.

Finally, the USMMA men’s lacrosse schedule was released late in the week last week. The slate features a total of 15 games, including six against Landmark Conference opponents.

By Joe Guster