Men’s and Women’s Swimming Split at University of New England
BIDDEFORD, Maine – Elms College sophomore Keegan Goan (Westbrook, Maine) set a new University of New England (UNE) pool record in the 50-yard butterfly and Devon DeGrazia (Westport, Mass.) set a new school record in the 1650-yard freestyle and her split in the 1000-yard freestyle was also a school record as the Blazers swam to a split in Saturday's dual meet in Biddeford, Maine.
The men's team earned a 123.5-95.5 win over UNE to improve to 4-4-1 overall, while the women's team fell 145-116 and move to 9-5 on the season.
On the men's side, Goan clocked a 24.86 in the 50-yard butterfly to set a new UNE pool record, and captured first place in the 50-yard backstroke with a time of 27.32.
Junior Jonathan Girard (West Springfield, Mass.) added two wins in the 200-yard freestyle (2:04.59), and the 500-yard freestyle (5:48.40), while senior Garrett Brune (Lakeville, Mass.) notched a first place finish in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:10.03) and clocked a time of 32.43 in the 50-yard breaststroke to earn a share of first place.
The 200-yard medley relay squad of junior Mark Gehring (West Springfield, Mass.), Brune, Goan and sophomore Aaron Starke (Chicopee, Mass.) won the event with a time of 1:48.12, while senior Nicholas Provost (Three Rivers, Mass.), Girard, Gehring and senior Michael Desmond (Nashua, N.H.) teamed to win the 400-yard freestyle relay (3:59.25).
For the women, DeGrazia's overall time of 18:57.47 set a new school record, and her split of 11:15.93 after the first 1000 yards of the 1650-yard freestyle also set a new school mark. DeGrazia also won the 50-yard backstroke (30.95) and the 100-yard backstroke (1:06.60), while junior Chalis Bird (Windsor, Mass.) added a top finish in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 59.18.
Junior Tessa Dudunake (Northampton, Mass.) added a trio of second place finishes, while sophomore Kelly Gilhooly's (Bloomfield, Conn.) lead leg time of 32.85 in the 200-yard medley relay allowed her to qualify for the season-ending New England Intercollegiate Swimming and Diving Association (NEISDA) Championships.
Elms returns to action at the season-ending NEISDA Championships beginning on Feb. 17-19 in White River Junction, Vt.
