University at Buffalo
Akron Invite
UB Swimmers Take Eight Events in Second Day of Zippy Invitational
12/1/2012 12:00:00 AM | Swimming and Diving
AKRON, OH – The University at Buffalo men's and women's swimming and diving teams scored eight victories on Saturday night as the second session of the University of Akron's Zippy Invitational came to a conclusion at Ocasek Natatorium.
The UB men finished one-two in the 200-yard medley relay to open the session. The A team of Matt Schwippert, Josh Meints, Cory Zorsch and Ryan Smrekar won the race in 1:31.39. UB's B squad of Phil Aronica, Christian Muller, Eric Forrester and Tommy Steele placed second in the timed final in 1:32.70. In the women's 200-yard medley relay, the UB foursome of Claudia Doyle, Brittney Kuras, Marissa Murphy and Mallory Morrell finished third in a season-best 1:45.22.
The Bulls' men also had one-two finishes in the 100-yard butterfly and 400-yard individual medley.
Mike Dugan touched out Zorsch by a hundredth of a second in the butterfly, winning in a season-best 49.08 with Zorsch also posting a season-best in the final of 49.09. Schwippert was fourth in 50.66 and Forrester was sixth in 51.18.
Eric Culver and Billy Patrum finished first and second, respectively, in the men's 400-yard individual medley. Culver shaved nearly 14 seconds from his previous best in his preliminary and championship swims on Saturday as he won the final in 4:02.70, nearly seven seconds faster than his prelim time. Patrum also twice lowered his season-best mark finishing in 4:02.84. Bill Caffee was sixth in 4:11.50 and John Nord placed eighth in 4:16.40.
Kuras later claimed her second victory of the meet with a season-best performance in the women's 200-yard freestyle. Kuras shaved a second from her previous top time to win the race in 1:48.34, two seconds ahead of Toledo's Carly Harter. Jessica Powers was third for the Bulls in 1:52.28 while Becky Evangelista was sixth in 1:54.18.
Schwippert won the men's 100-yard backstroke in a season-best 49.64, nearly a full second ahead of the second-place finisher from St. Bonaventure. Forrester was fourth in 50.92, Zorsch was fifth in 51.52 and Aronica was the seventh in 51.94. Travis Bohn won the B final to place ninth overall in a season-best 52.57.
Chris Iafrati won the men's one-meter springboard competition with a six-dive total of 262.30 points. Shawn Hoffman, Friday night's three-meter runner-up, finished third on Saturday with 253.70 points. Derek McAninch was seventh at 216.90 and Derek Linebaugh was eighth at 210.10. In the women's three-meter final, Ava Giachino finished third with 255.30 points for her six-dive program.
Kuras anchored the UB women to a victory in the 800-yard medley relay. She teamed with Powers, Emma Miller and Evangelista to take the timed final in 7:30.01. UB's men also won their 800-yard medley relay in 6:50.57 as Lanzi, Schwippert, Dugan and Matt Hogan combined on the winning foursome. UB's B squad of Patrum, Steele, Colin McAllister and Culver finished third in 6:55.84..
Lanzi and Josh Meints had second-place finishes in the men's 200-yard freestyle and 100-yard breaststroke. Lanzi finished in 1:40.44, four-tenths of a second behind St. Bonaventure's Jimmy Martin. Hogan finished fifth in 1:41.61 with Steele sixth in 1:43.68 and McAllister seventh in 1:45.04. Meints posted a season-best in his runner-up finish in the 100-yard breaststroke in 56.88 as Clarion's Derek Nelson broke Meints' meet record to win the race in 56.47. Nord was fourth in the final in 57.23.
"We had another good night," said head coach Andy Bashor. "We have been consistent, which is good for right now. Tomorrow is going to be a tough day but I am excited to see how we respond."
The UB men extended their lead over second-place Clarion to 550.5 points. UB leads the three-day meet with 1,551 points in the six-team men's competition. The UB women remained in fourth place among 10 squads with 740 points as they trail MAC rivals Toledo (1,184) and Ohio (898) as well as Illinois State (880.5).
Competition concludes on Sunday.
Men's team scores (though 14 events): Buffalo 1551, Clarion 1000.5, St. Bonaventure 838.5, Bloomsburg 809, Indiana (PA) 613, Niagara 540.
Women's team scores (through 14 events): Toledo 1184, Ohio 898, Illinois State 880.5, Buffalo 740, Akron 733, Clarion 527, St. Bonaventure 458, Indiana (PA) 405, Bloomsburg 332.5, Niagara 188.
