Swimming and Diving Wraps Up MAAC Championships

Sophomore Luke Kennedy placed second and set a Canisius record in the 200 breaststroke event while senior Vivian Mroz finished fourth in the women's 1-meter diving competition, closing out the fourth and final day of the 2018 MAAC Championships at the Burt Flickinger Center Pool in downtown Buffalo.

In the team portion of the championship, the Canisius men finished fifth with 294 total points, while the women's program took fourth with 385 total points. Rider won its eighth-straight MAAC crown on the men's side, while Fairfield secured the women's championship crown for the second year in a row.

In diving, the women's side saw three top-eight finishes, as Mroz scored 215.70 en route to a fourth-place finish, while juniors Vinnie Costanzo (214.65-fifth) and Gianna Cornelia (199.50-sixth) closed out the 2018-19 season strong.

Other women's action from day four saw sophomore Kelsey Childress (2:05.75) finish fifth and senior Cassie Brousseau finish eighth (2:09.32) in the 200 backstroke event, while junior Ashlynn Gilfillan earned the silver medal (52.36) and sophomore Sage Pollack finished ninth (53.91) in the 100-free event.

Freshman Cara Smith placed eighth in the women's 1650 freestyle event and Madison Chapin placed 11th in the 200 butterfly event (2:10.91).

On the men's side, Kennedy placed second in the men's 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:01.30, setting a new program record. In the 100-yard free event, junior Kyle Griffin, freshman Kyle Kimerer and junior Daniel Kuznetsov placed 11th (46.42), 13th (46.48) and 16th (47.11) for the Golden Griffins. Freshman Michael Maurer finished the day for the Griffs by placing 10th in the 200-yard butterfly event with a time of 1:52.06.

The closing of the 2019 MAAC Swimming and Diving Championship marks the end of the 2018-19 season for the Canisius swimming and diving teams.

Event Notes
• The men's relay unit of Kimerer, O'Connell, Griffin and Kuznetsov placed eighth in the 400 free relay and the women's squad of sophomore Kelly Burns, Pollack, Childress and Gilfillan placed fifth in the 400 free relay.
• Rider won the MAAC Championship on the men's side with a total of 781 points. Bryant placed second with 542 points, while Marist finished in third with 523.5 points and Iona placed fourth (403). The Griffs finished ahead of Monmouth (270), Saint Peter's (252), Niagara (234), Fairfield (208.5), and Manhattan (143), ending in fifth place with 294 points.
• Fairfield placed first with 776 points to win the women's championship, with Marist finishing in second with 646 points, followed by Rider (551.5). The Blue and Gold took the fourth position with 385 points, while Niagara (314), Iona (305.5), Monmouth (281), Siena (219), Saint Peter's (90), and Manhattan (81) all trailed the Griffs.
• Both the Canisius men's and women's teams earned a total of four points in the annual Battle of the Bridge competition against rival Niagara. Canisius now leads the rivalry series by a 13-5 count for the 2018-19 academic year.

Day Four Preliminary Results

Women's 200 Backstroke
5th Kelsey Childress 2:07.24 – advanced to finals
8th Cassie Brousseau 2:08.39 – advanced to finals
18th Julia Connerton 2:11.34
26th Jordyn Spencer 2:15.36
28th Morgan Farman 2:16.71

Men's 200 Backstroke
19th Josh Dempsey 1:56.97

Women's 100 Free
2nd Ashlynn Gilfillan 52.67
16th Sage Pollack 53.65
19th Kelly Burns 54.15
24th Lauren Willitt 54.81

Men's 100 Free
11th Kyle Kimerer 46.53
14th Kyle Griffin 46.76
16th Dan Kuznetsov 46.80
20th Tyler Regelsberger 46.98
23rd Liam O'Connell 47.21
27th Michael Shenal 47.57
40th Jake Whiting 48.76
45th Kobi Donaldson 49.19
58th Christian Balkin 48.88

Women's 200 Breaststroke
21st Ali Testone 2:33.46
23rd Lauren Thorne 2:34.11
25th Sierra Kenney 2:34.97

Men's 200 Breaststroke
2nd Luke Kennedy 2:02.74 *NEW SCHOOL RECORD*
35th Mason Adams 2:12.96
38th Juan Ramirez 2:15.91
39th Teddy Snyder 2:19.05
40th Aaron Flick 2:22.54

Women's 200 Fly
11th Maddy Chapin 2:11.23
20th Julia Connerton 2:22.09

Men's 200 Fly
9th Mike Maurer 1:52.27
19th Jordan Read 1:55.84
31st Garrett Frear 2:04.94

Men's 1650 Free
9th Jordan Read (16:14.52)
10th James Pokornowski (16:15.97)
18th Alex Kunes (16:30.00)
27th Garrett Frear (17:00.4)

Women's 1650 Free
10th Lexie Agee (17:51.72)
14th Julia Sagasta (18:06.75)
16th Lauren Thorne (18:18.97)

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

Gianna Cornelia: DIVER; 5' 0"; Sophomore

Ashlynn Gilfillan: SPRINT FREE; 5' 10"; Sophomore

Cassie Brousseau: BACKSTROKE; 5' 6"; Senior

Kelly Burns: 5' 7"; Sophomore

Kelsey Childress: 5' 9"; Sophomore

Vinnie Costanzo: DIVER; 5' 6"; Junior

Josh Dempsey: 5' 9"; Sophomore

Kobi Donaldson: FREE/FLY; 5' 9"; Senior

Ashlynn Gilfillan: SPRINT FREE; 5' 10"; Junior

Kyle Griffin: SPRINT FREE; 5' 10"; Junior

Players Mentioned

Gianna Cornelia
: 5' 0"; Sophomore
: DIVER

Ashlynn Gilfillan
: 5' 10"; Sophomore
: SPRINT FREE

Cassie Brousseau
: 5' 6"; Senior
: BACKSTROKE

Kelly Burns
: 5' 7"; Sophomore

Kelsey Childress
: 5' 9"; Sophomore

Vinnie Costanzo
: 5' 6"; Junior
: DIVER

Josh Dempsey
: 5' 9"; Sophomore

Kobi Donaldson
: 5' 9"; Senior
: FREE/FLY

Ashlynn Gilfillan
: 5' 10"; Junior
: SPRINT FREE

Kyle Griffin
: 5' 10"; Junior
: SPRINT FREE