UMBC

Junior Eric Jones

BOSTON—The UMBC men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams took home three golds as the men extended their lead going into the final day of the 2010 America East Championships in Boston.

The men now have 650.5 points, followed by Boston University (555.5), Binghamton (439), Stony Brook (310) and Maine (144). The women sit in second place with 463 points, just 35 points behind Boston U., who has 498. New Hampshire follows with 406 points, followed by Vermont (295), SBU (226.5), Binghamton (216.5) and Maine (146).

In the women's 200 free, senior Sam Maccherola (Woolford, Md./South Carroll/Tennessee) earned gold in an NCAA-provisional qualifying time of 1:48.63. Sophomore Abbey McKenney (Wilmington, Del./Brandywine) took home bronze in 1:50.42, while freshman Amy Fay (Haverhill, Mass/Haverhill) finished eighth in 1:53.28.

Junior Eric Jones (Gambrills, Md./Arundel) earned gold in the men's 200 free in a time of 1:38.68 and did not lead until the final turn. Sophomore Mark Garbowski (Cherry Hill, NJ./Cherry Hill West) placed seventh in 1:41.28.

Senior Matt Mattingly (Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill West) and Boston University's Kyle Ernst tied for the gold in a time of 55.70. Freshman Steve Gallagher (Sinking Spring, Pa/Wilson) earned bronze in 57.11, while sophomore John Mendenhall (Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill East) and junior Phillip Novotny (Fairfield, Conn./Fairfield Warde) finished fourth and seventh, respectively.

Freshman Tara Morrissette (Somersworth, N.H./Saint Thomas Aquinas) earned the bronze in the women's 400 IM in a UMBC-record time of 4:25.20. Fellow freshman Jennifer Kotonias (Burtonsville, Md/Academy of Holy Cross) finished fifth in 4:27.92, while junior Rebecca Godwin (Catonsville, Md./Notre Dame Prep) placed seventh in 4:28.92.

In the men’s 1-meter diving, freshman Andrew Eckhoff (Chelmsford, Mass/Chelmsford) earned silver with 507.45 points, while fellow freshman Enrique Labourdeth (Rochester, Mi./Stoney Creek) and junior Joe Cabahug (Germantown, Md./Poolesville) finished seventh and ninth, respectively.

Senior Zach Vonder Haar (Gahanna, Ohio/Columbus Academy) finished second in the men's 100 back in a time of 50.00. Freshman Sandy Haibel (Rockville, Md/Richard Montgomery) placed fourth in 50.36. In addition, sophomores Jason Mattingly (Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill West) and Nour Saad (Columbia, Md./Oakland Mills) touched in fifth and eighth in 50.55 and 51.95, respectively.

Junior Mat Carson (Toronto, Ontario, Canada/Silverthorn Collegiate Institute) recorded the second-fastest time in school history in the men's 400 IM, earning silver in a time of 3:57.42. Fellow junior Dan Weston-Dawkes (Ellicott City, Md./Wilde Lake) finished fourth in 4:02.66 and Mendenhall placed fifth in 4:03.90.

Junior Brad Reitz (Ellicott City, Md./Howard) touched second in the men's 100 fly in 49.41, while freshman Sandy Haibel () finished fourth in 49.85. In addition, Vonder Haar placed sixth in 50.73 and sophomore Ben Wolbert (Finksburg, Md./Westminster) touched seventh in 50.76.

Junior Sarah Ryan (Rockville Centre, N.Y./Oceanside) finished third in the women's 100 fly in a time of 55.67, just seven one-hundredths off the school record. Senior Jennifer Esposito (Lindenhurst, N.Y./Lindenhurst/C.W. Post) placed fourth in 55.91, while fellow senior Lindsay Sherman (Bethany, Conn./Amity) touched seventh in 56.92.

In the women's 100 breast, junior Tina Cantwell (Sinking Spring, Pa./The Hill School) earned bronze in 1:04.27, while fellow senior Tereza Kaplanova (Prague, Czech Republic/Gymnazium J.G. Jankovskeho) placed fifth in 1:05.25.

Sophomore Kathryn Moorby (Cape May, N.J./Lower Cape May Regional) earned bronze in the women's 100 back in a time of 57.42, a season-best time.

In the final events of the evening, the women's 400 medley relay team of Moorby, Cantwell, Ryan and Maccherola broke the school record and finished second in a school-record time of 3:48.17. On the men's side, the team of Haibel, Matt Mattingly, Reitz and Jones also earned silver in 3:20.79.

The final day of competition starts Sunday with the prelims at 10 a.m. and the finals at 5:30 p.m.