It may be cold outside, but competition was heating up in the pool last weekend as UMBC men’s and women’s swimming and diving dominated the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) 2021 Winter Championships.
Capturing 15 out of 20 events, UMBC men’s swimming and diving took home first place in the meet. With a difference of 1,896 points, the Retrievers eclipsed runner-up Long Island University (LIU).
“I could not be more pleased with how the team competed at the ECAC meet,” says head coach Matt Donovan. “We are in a tremendous position for this time of year and we are all excited for what is still to come.”
The UMBC women’s swimming and diving team earned the runner-up spot in last weekend’s competition, only narrowly missing the win to Columbia. Both of the ladies’ medley relay quartets took home golds in new meet record times.
Swimming laps around the competition
Kai Wisner ‘22, mechanical engineering, was named Swimmer of the Meet, and head coach Donovan and staff received Coaching Staff of the Meet honors.
“As a coaching staff, we presented this team with a lot of new training concepts this fall. It is truly impressive with how quickly they mastered these goals,” says Donovan.
Will Henrickson, ‘23, media & communication studies, earned Diver of the Meet accolades, as he triumphed on both the 1-meter and 3-meter boards.
Niklas Weigelt ‘23, fine arts, set a new meet record in the 100 freestyle with a time of 43.87. A foursome from UMBC also locked down a new meet record with their 2:58.60 time in the 400 free relay.
Jenna Gwinn ‘23, public health, captured first in both the 100 and 200 breastroke competitions.
“I’m super excited and proud of how our team competed this past weekend. We’ve been pushing each other to bring out the best in one another and I believe we showed that,” says Weigelt.
Both teams return to the pool in January and you can follow all the action on Twitter.
Banner image: men’s and women’s swimming and diving celebrate their ECAC victories. All photos by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.
Tags: Athletics
