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News Release

RETRIEVER SWIMMING AND DIVING HEADS TO GEORGE MASON PATRIOT INVITATIONAL

11/17/2005

Freddie Reitz and the Retrievers will compete at the George Mason Patriot Invitational this weekend.

Baltimore, Md.-The UMBC men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams take a break from dual meet action this weekend as they head to Fairfax, Va., for the George Mason Patriot Invitational at George Mason’s Aquatic and Fitness Center. Action will take place all day Friday-Sunday, Nov. 18-20. The women enter the weekend with a perfect 6-0 dual meet record, while the men are 3-3.

A Look Ahead

Friday-Sunday, Nov. 18-20 – UMBC at George Mason Patriot Invitational, All Day, Aquatic and Fitness Center: Eleven teams will compete at the 2005 Patriot Invitational: American, Duke, George Mason, George Washington, Georgetown, Howard, UMBC, UNC-Wilmington, Seton Hall, Shippensburg and Yale. UNC-Wilmington’s men and women are both ranked fifth in the first mid-major power ranking, which was released Wednesday, while George Washington’s men and women are 19th and 22nd, respectively, in the poll. The Retrievers will face a familiar opponent in Seton Hall, as the UMBC men and women each dominated the Pirates on Nov. 6. In addition, the Retrievers will face Howard this weekend, a sneak peek into the newly scheduled Jan. 11 dual meet at UMBC.

This is the fourth consecutive year UMBC will swim at the George Mason Invite. At last year’s Patriot Invitational, the Retriever men finished third with 674 points behind Yale (797.5) and Duke (760.5), while the women placed fourth with 372 points behind Duke (863), Yale (726) and UNC-Wilmington (491). The 2004 invite featured the same 11 teams who will compete this year.

Prelims start at 10 a.m. on Friday and Saturday and at 9 a.m. on Sunday. Diving starts at 12 p.m. each day, while finals begin at 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday and at 5 p.m. Sunday. Click here for the psych sheet.

UMBC Records Falling

Six UMBC records have fallen already this season, including all four diving marks. Junior Jeff Salgado (Glen Rock, Pa./South Western/St. Bonaventure) shattered Kevin Firman’s six-year-old 1-meter mark of 281.77 by nearly 20 points with a score of 301.65 against Binghamton on Nov. 5, and his score of 301.28 on the 3-meter board at the same meet bested his own record of 300.98, which he had set just a week earlier against Navy. On the women’s side, junior Ashley Houghton (Frederick, Md./Urbana/Pittsburgh) smashed teammate Katie Spohnholz’s previous 3-meter record of 270.60, set last season, with her own score of 293.40 against Navy. Houghton also broke Tammy Hendricks’ seven-year-old 1-meter mark of 271.50 with her score of 273.59 in the same meet. Finally, sophomore Meghan Sackett (Cockeysville, Md./Dulaney/Maryland) shattered UMBC’s 16-year-old 1,000-yard freestyle record by nearly 12 seconds, swimming a time of 10:04.92 at Seton Hall. Sue Herzog’s 10:16.71 had stood as the school best since 1989. Sackett also broke Herzog’s 500-free mark of 4:54.20, also set in 1989, against Towson on Nov. 12 with a time of 4:53.57.

Retrievers Make NCAA Cuts

Salgado and Houghton have each qualified for the NCAA Zone Regionals. Salgado made the cut on the 1-meter board with his score of 301.65. He needed a 300 to qualify. Houghton has achieved the cut on both boards, as her scores of 271.50 on the 1-meter and 293.40 on the 3-meter surpass the qualifying marks of 265 and 280, respectively. In addition, Sackett has achieved a ‘B’ cut in the 500-free with her time of 4:53.57.

UMBC Ranks High in First Mid-Major Poll

The Retriever men and women both rank in the top 10 in the first Mid-Major Division I Power Ranking of the season, which was released Wednesday. The women are third, less than three-tenths of a point behind second-place Toledo, while the men rank seventh. Several of UMBC’s dual meet opponents also rank in the top 25, including Navy’s men (2), New Hampshire’s women (8), Bucknell’s men (11), Navy’s women (11), Binghamton’s men (13), Rider’s men (15) Bucknell’s women (16) and Rider’s women (24). In addition, UNC-Wilmington and George Washington, two of the Retrievers’ opponents at the Patriot Invitational this weekend, made the list, with the Seahawks’ men and women both ranked fifth, while the Colonial men are 19th and the women are 22nd.

The Power Rankings are a relative indication of a team’s strength in dual meets. The mid-major poll supports institutions that do not benefit from large football and basketball television agreements and are based on each team’s best dual meet lineup as judged and submitted by participating teams.

Retrievers Garner Weekly Conference Honors

Sackett and Houghton have both swept America East Performer of the Week honors for each of the first three weeks the conference has handed out the awards this season. Sackett was tabbed Women’s Swimmer of the Week on Nov. 1 after winning eight events in three meets and coming within six-hundredths of a second of breaking UMBC’s 500-free mark. She garnered the honor again on Nov. 8 after her record-breaking performance at Seton Hall, in which she defeated her closest competition by nearly 30 seconds in the 1,000-free, swimming the event for the first time this season, and also won two other events on the weekend. On Nov. 15, Sackett received the award for a third time after winning the 200- and 500-free and the 400-free relay against Towson and breaking the school’s 16-year-old 500-free record.

Houghton has been named Women’s Diver of the Week three times after sweeping the diving events at all six of UMBC’s dual meets this season for a total of 12 individual victories, including her record-breaking performance against Navy.

In addition, three UMBC men have earned conference performer of the week nods. Junior Ryan Karrer (Linwood, N.J./Mainland Regional) was named Men’s Swimmer of the Week on Nov. 1 after sweeping the distance freestyle events in each of the Retrievers’ first three meets and breaking New Hampshire’s Swasey Pool record in the 1,000-free. This past week, freshman Justin Bronson (Oshawa, Ontario, Canada/MSGR. Paul Dwyer) and junior Jeff Salgado (Glen Rock, Pa./South Western/St. Bonaventure) were tabbed Men’s Co-Swimmer and Co-Diver of the Week, respectively. Bronson won both the 200- and 500-free against Towson, posting UMBC’s fastest time of the year in the 500-free despite swimming the event for the first time this season. Salgado swept the diving events against Towson for the fourth straight meet.

Lady Retrievers Knock Off Defending Champs

UMBC’s women defeated defending America East champion New Hampshire, 141-102, on Oct. 30, to remain perfect at 3-0 on the season. The Wildcats had not lost a dual meet since Jan. 19, 2004, at Northeastern, a streak of nine consecutive dual meet victories. The Retrievers won all but four events on the day.

Retriever Streaks

Houghton and Sackett have won every individual event in which they have competed this season. Houghton has swept all 12 diving events, while Sackett has won the 200-free five times, the 500-free four times, the 200-fly three times and the 1,000-free once for a total of 13 individual victories. In addition, Karrer is undefeated in the distance events, with five wins in the 500-free and six victories in the 1,000-free, despite a fourth-place finish in the 100-free against Towson, the only time he has swum it this year.

Though not undefeated, four other Retrievers are on modest winning streaks of their own. Salgado has swept the diving events in each of the last four meets, while junior Agnes Stanislawska (Zielona Gora, Poland/LO VI Zielona Gora) has won the 200-breast the last four times she has swum it and freshman Milos Djukic (Novi Sad, Serbia & Montenegro/Svetozar Markovic) has won the 200-back in his last three dual meets. In addition, senior Geza Szabo (Szolnok, Hungary/Ady Endre Gimnazium) has won the 200-fly four of the five times he has swum it and narrowly missed that fifth consecutive victory by four-hundredths of a second to Binghamton’s David Holmes.

Retrievers Crack Top 100

Several Retrievers have cracked the top 100 fastest times in the country this season. Sackett leads the way with the 22nd-best time in the women’s 500-free (4:53.57), the 39th-best in the women’s 1,000-free (10:04.92) and 90th-best in the women’s 200-free (1:52.03). Karrer is 61st in the men’s 1,000-free (9:32.23), while Szabo is 68th in the men’s 200-fly (1:52.72). Stanislawska is 81st in the women’s 200-breast (2:21.47) and 100th in the women’s 200-back (2:05.10), and Djukic is 98th in the men’s 200-back (1:53.14). In addition, the men’s 400-medley relay ranks 62nd (3:32.60) and the men’s 400-free relay ranks 63rd (3:11.93), while the women’s 400-medley relay is 75th (3:58.26) and the women’s 400-free relay is 84th (3:36.37).

Retriever Firsts

A number of Retriever newcomers have picked up the first victories of their UMBC careers in the early parts of the 2005-06 campaign, including junior Brian Jaeggi (Newmarket, Ontario, Canada/Sacred Heart) in the 200-back at New Hampshire and freshmen Tina Cantwell (Sinking Spring, Pa./The Hill School) in the 200-breast at Binghamton, Robin Klein (McMinnville, Ore./McMinnville) in the 50-free at New Hampshire, Daniele Surkovich (Ellicott City, Md./Wilde Lake) in the 50- and 100-free against Navy, Bronson in the 200-free against Navy, Djukic in the 100-free at New Hampshire, Freddie Reitz (Ellicott City, Md./Howard) in the 200-breast against Navy and Evan Roseberry (Sinking Spring, Pa./Wilson) in the 200-free and 200-fly at New Hampshire. In addition, transfers Houghton and Sackett each picked up their first Retriever wins in the first meet of the season at Rider and junior transfer Juan Ortiz (Cali, Columbia/Indian River CC) won the 200-IM against Navy.

Dawg Bites…

At 6-0, the women are off to their best start since 2003-04, when they won the first eight dual meets of the season and finished the year 12-1… The men open the season 3-3 for the first time since the 2000-01 campaign. They rebounded from a rough start that year to finish with a 7-4 overall record and Northeast Conference and Eastern College Athletic Conference titles… The Retriever men broke three Swasey Pool records in the Oct. 30 dual meet at New Hampshire. Karrer set the 1,000-free mark at 9:33.04, while the 400-medley relay team of Djukic, sophomore Scott Auchter (Wernersville, Pa./Wilson), Bronson and senior Adam Blais (Westbrook, Maine/Westbrook) lowered the pool mark with a time of 3:34.59. In addition, Djukic’s leadoff split of 52.65 in the 100-back was a new pool record… Sackett and Stanislawska each hold UMBC’s top times of the season in four different events, while Surkovich has been fastest on the team in three events this year… The women have dominated their opponents in dual meets this season, never winning by less than 31 points… The men have also been dominant in their three victories, winning by an average of nearly 43 points, while two of their three losses have come down to the final relay and were by nine and three points, respectively.

A Look Back: Women

Saturday Oct. 22 – UMBC 146, Rider 95: The Retriever women defeated host Rider, 146-95. Stanislawska, Houghton and Sackett led the way with two individual victories apiece. Sophomore Lindsey Engler (Salisbury, Md./James M. Bennett) was the only other individual winner for UMBC, which also swept the relay events.

Saturday, Oct. 29 – UMBC 141, Navy 96: The Retriever women dominated Navy at UMBC Natatorium, winning all but one event to hand the Mids their first lost of the season. Sackett won three events, while Houghton, Stanislawska and Surkovich won two apiece, with Houghton breaking both diving records. Sophomore Rachel Lesslie (Kingston, Ontario, Canada/Holy Cross) was the only other individual winner for UMBC, which also swept the relays.

Sunday, Oct. 30 – UMBC 141, New Hampshire 102: The visiting Retrievers defeated the defending America East champions by winning all but four events at New Hampshire. Sackett came away with three individual victories, while Stanislawska and Houghton each won two and Klein won the first event of her collegiate career. UMBC also won the 400-free relay.

Saturday, Nov. 5 – UMBC 166, Binghamton 74: The visiting Retrievers dominated America East rival Binghamton by winning all but one event. Houghton, Surkovich and senior Amber Harris (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Arcadia) each won two events, while Sackett, Klein and Lesslie each won one and Cantwell notched the first victory of her career. UMBC also swept the relays.

Sunday, Nov. 6 – UMBC 143, Seton Hall 98: The Retriever women defeated host Seton Hall, 143-98. Sackett swept the distance freestyle events, shattering the 1,000-free record in the process. Surkovich and Houghton also won two events each, while Harris, Engler and Stanislawska each took one. UMBC again swept the relays.

Saturday, Nov. 12 – UMBC 146.5, Towson 85.5: The host Retrievers dominated local rival Towson, winning every event. Sackett broke the 500-free record and also won the 200-free. Surkovich, Stanislawska and Houghton also won two events apiece, while Lesslie, Klein and Harris each came away with one individual victory. The Retrievers swept the relays for the third consecutive dual meet.

A Look Back: Men

Saturday, Oct. 22 – Rider 130.5, UMBC 110.5: The Retriever men fell to host Rider, 130.5-110.5. The loss broke a streak of 21 straight victories which dated to Nov. 1, 2003, when they were edged by Navy, 122-121. Karrer swept the distance freestyle events, while Szabo took the 200-fly. UMBC also won the 400-free relay.

Saturday, Oct. 29 – Navy 127, UMBC 116: The meet came down to the final event of the afternoon, the 400-free relay, but Navy’s ‘A’ team beat host UMBC’s ‘A’ team by two and a half seconds to eke out the victory. Karrer swept the distance events, while Bronson, Reitz and Ortiz each won the first events of their UMBC careers and Szabo won the 200-fly for the second consecutive meet. Salgado finished second in both diving events, breaking the school 3-meter mark.

Sunday, Oct. 30 – UMBC 96, New Hampshire 63: The visiting Retrievers picked up their first dual meet victory of the season at host New Hampshire, sweeping the meet and breaking three Swasey Pool records in the process. Karrer and Salgado swept the distance and diving events, respectively, while Roseberry picked up the first two individual victories of his career and Blais won his first two events of the season. Djukic and Jaeggi also won the first events of their careers and the Retrievers won both relays.

Saturday, Nov. 5 – Binghamton 123, UMBC 120: Another meet coming down to the final relay, another meet resulting in a Retriever loss, as visiting UMBC was edged by America East rival Binghamton, which finished second at the 2005 conference championship. Salgado broke both diving records, while Karrer swept the distance events and Djukic won the 200-back.

Sunday, Nov. 6 – UMBC 143, Seton Hall 84: The visiting Retrievers defeated host Seton Hall in convincing fashion, taking all but three events. Karrer and Salgado again won two events apiece, while Djukic, Bronson, Szabo, Blais and Reitz each won one. UMBC also swept the relays.

Saturday, Nov. 12 – UMBC 94, Towson 58: The host Retrievers won every event over local rival Towson. Junior Tim Conway (Brick, N.J./Brick Township Memorial) won his first two events of the season, sweeping the sprint freestyles, while Bronson and Salgado also came away with two individual victories. Other winners for UMBC, which also swept the relays, included Karrer, Ortiz, Szabo, Djukic and Reitz.

Coming Up:

After a two-week hiatus, the Retrievers return home to host Bucknell on Dec. 3 at 1 p.m. at the UMBC Natatorium. The Bison men ranked 11th and the men 16th in the first Mid-Major Division I Power Rankings. UMBC will then have nearly six weeks off for training before resuming its dual meet schedule by hosting regional foe Howard on Jan. 11.