On March 30 and 31, the men and women’s swim team hosted the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Spring Invitational home at the Steadman Natatorium. This was the team’s first competition since last year in February 2020.
Due to COVID-19 safety and capacity restrictions, Manhattan College was the only visiting team in the natatorium. After the two-day meet, other teams from the MAAC who competed at their facilities combined their results to virtually score the meet.
The Hawks racked up many wins during the meet. Sophomore Dylan Edge won the 200-yard fly to break his own school record, winning in a time of 1:51.22. Sophomore Katie Parker won the 200-yard Individual Medley, coming in 2:14.80.
For the long distance, junior Sarah Brennan swam the 1000-yard Freestyle and had a personal best time of 10:54.01. In the sprinting events, junior Callan Smith won the 100-yard fly in 50.20 while junior Dylan Barkhuizen earned first in the 50-yard free stroke, with a time of 21.52.
Head coach Matt Nunnally shared his thoughts about the game. “I have to give credit to our team and their commitment level this year,” said Coach Nunnally. “They had a lot of challenges to deal with and I am impressed with how they responded to the adversity they have faced.”
He also noted, “To have a number of times faster than last year’s MAAC Championship shows they stepped up, were engaged and committed to performing well and I’m really happy they took advantage of the opportunity to compete this week. I’m pleased with their effort and I think this will pay big dividends for us as a program in the future.”
On Wednesday, before the races began, seniors who have competed for the Hawks were recognized for their career achievements. Trevor Askew, Ryan Hohman, Hunter Klingener, Ryan Reutti, Sophia Nogales, Laura Patterson, Tara Viscito, and Reilly Ward were honored for their dedication at Monmouth University. Sophomore Ben Yeung was honored on social media for graduating early last fall semester.
The meet also brought in new faces to the program. Freshmen Alexa Ploskonka, Samantha Van Veyeren, Maggie Young, Sean Cook, Conor Currie, Martin Vradinskiy, and transfer Cole Dyson debuted for the Hawks.
The invite concluded this semester’s season. The men and women’s swim team will tentatively compete again next fall semester.
PHOTOS COURTESY of Monmouth Athletics
