Men Remain Second; Women Slip to Third at Zippy Invite

Buy Now

AKRON, OH – The University at Buffalo's men's swim team remained in second place while the women's team slipped to third on Saturday night as the second day of competition at the University of Akron's Zippy Invitational came to a conclusion at Ocasek Natatorium.

The UB men claimed four first-place finishes, setting three meet and two pool records, while also picking up a pair of second-place finishes.

UB's men's 200-yard medley relay posted a meet and pool record of 1:29.68 in winning the timed final. The foursome of Phil Aronica, Josh Meints, Matt Schwippert and Jared Heine also earned an NCAA B cut for their finish. UB's B squad of Eric Forrester, Matt Hogan, Cory Zorsch and Ryan Smrekar finished fifth in a season-best 1:33.41.

Individually, Hogan, Meints and Schwippert picked up titles on Saturday night. Hogan won the 200-yard freestyle in 1:37.96, setting the meet and pool record with a B cut. Meints won the 100-yard breast in a meet record of 56.54 and Schwippert turned in a season best in winning the 100-yard backstroke in 49.66. Schwippert and Zorsch also earned championship final points in the 100-yard butterfly as both turned in season bests with Schwippert taking fourth in 49.92 and Zorsch fifth in 49.94.

The men's 800-yard freestyle relay team of Heine, Mike Dugan, Aronica and Hogan finished second in 6:45.09 with the B squad of Paul Garman, Tommy Steele, Travis Bohn and Schwippert placing fifth in 7:00.00.

The UB women garnered a pair of second-place finishes in the pool on Saturday. Brynn Marecki placed second and earned a B cut with her season-best 1:02.89 in the 100-yard breaststroke. Brittney Kuras also placed second in the 200-yard freestyle in 1:51.76. Alie Schirmers scored a third-place finish in the 400-yard individual medley posting a season-best mark of 4:31.40.

Taylor Steffl broke the school record in the 100-yard butterfly in winning the B final to finish ninth overall. Steffl finished in 55.11 to break the 2003 mark set by Jennefer Brankovsky of 55.38. Marissa Murphy finished second to Steffl and 10th overall in 55.77. Taylor Lansing competed in the A final finishing eighth in a season-best 57.59.

Both UB's women's relay teams posted sixth-place finishes. In the 200-yard medley relay, the foursome of Karly Moore, Schirmers, Steffl and Snyder turned in a season-best 1:46.33. The 800-yard freestyle relay team of Kuras, Schirmers, Becky Evangelista and Emma Miller) finished in 7:43.99.

On the diving boards, the Bulls were impressive. Colin Patrican finished second in the one-meter springboard with 290.50 points for his six dives in the championship round. Chris Iafrati was third at 257.50. Ava Giachino finished third in the women's three-meter competition with 269.45 points.

"Another great night of swimming and diving," said UB head coach Andy Bashor. "We definitely fed off the energy in the pool to step up and perform at a high level.

The UB men remained in second place among nine squads with 1,111 points, trailing first-place Army's 1,222. The UB women are third in the 14-team competition with 757.50 points. The Bulls trail Mid-American Conference foes Ohio (1,053) and Toledo (869), who hold the top two slots.

Competition concludes on Sunday.

Men's team scores (through 14 events): Army 1,222; Buffalo 1,111; Xavier 853; Clarion 847; St. Bonaventure 617; Niagara 439; Indiana (PA) 421; Shippensburg 244; Bloomsburg 237.

Women's team scores (through 14 events): Ohio 1,053; Toledo 869; Buffalo 757.50; Illinois State 634.50; Akron 516; Army 512; Clarion 502.50; Xavier 363.50; Indiana (PA) 298.50; Bloomsburg 231.50; Duquesne 229; St. Bonaventure 204; Shippensburg 160; Niagara 150.