Jan. 16, 2010
Complete Results
PHILADELPHIA - Senior Shannon Duval set a pool record in the 200 yard breaststroke and rookie Blase Szyszko captured two first place finishes to lead the Explorers swimming and diving squads on the final day of the Rhode Island Invitational.
Both squads finished second in a strong field. The No. 16 men's team amassed 497 points, second to No. 10 Massachusetts with 619 points. George Washington finished third with 339 points, and the Rhode Island club team rounded out the field with 236 points. The women's team racked up 554 points, second to No. 21 UMass with 635. GW finished third with 239 points.
Duval blasted ahead of the competition in the 200 breaststroke, winning by 7.5 seconds with a Tootell Aquatic Center record time of 2:18.41. She also captured first place in the 100 breaststroke with a 1:05.54.
Duval was also part of the winning 200 yard medley relay squad. She along with Jess Carbin, Aubrey Cefalo and Holly Biro edged the UMass squad by nine-tenths of a second with a mark of 1:49.89. The Explorer 'B' squad of Alex Stoddart, Liz Jordan, Brittany Sedberry and Emily Heath earned the bronze with a time of 1:53.76.
Carbin earned two first place finishes of her own as well, sweeping the 100- and 200-yard backstroke events. She clocked a 58.94 in the 100 back, the only sub-minute time of the event, while Stoddart added a third place finish with a 1:00.93. Carbin and Stoddart went 1-2 in the 200 back, as Carbin raced a 2:10.31 and Stoddart clocked a 2:11.65.
Biro also snagged two golds as she took the 100- and 200-yard freestyle events. She edged UMass's Amina Meho by nine-hundredths of a second in the 100 with a mark of 54.55. She clocked a 1:57.94 in the 200 to win the event.
Rounding out the Explorer golds was Emily Heath, who won the 1,000 yard freestyle by 24 seconds. She raced a time of 10:18.90, the best in the conference this weekend.
The 16th-ranked men's squad also posted strong times, led by Szyszko's two golds. Szyszko swept the 100- and 200-yard breaststroke events, as he posted the only sub-minute 100 time with a 59.78. He won by over five seconds in the 200 with a 2:09.09. Colson Ferrari finished third in the 200 with a 2:14.92.
Brian Batson earned gold in the 400-yard individual medley as he bested UMass's Max Butler by .63 second with a time of 4:18.34. Tom Lawrie placed third in the event with a 4:20.31.
Owen Black won the 100 yard freestyle with a 48.26 mark.
The Explorers return to action on Saturday (1/23) when they host Fordham in Kirk Pool starting at 1:00 PM.
