UMBC

Daniele Surkovich broke the UMBC 50-free record twice on day one of the Patriot Invitational.

Meghan Sackett broke the school 500-free mark for the second time in as many meets.

Fairfax, Va.-The UMBC men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams are both in second place after the first day of competition at the George Mason Patriot Invitational. The men have totaled 221 points and sit 72 points behind first-place Yale (293), while the women have amassed 198 points and trail front-runner Duke (206) by just eight points. In addition, the Retriever women broke three UMBC school records in the evening session.

The story of the day was the women’s 50-free, as the school mark fell three times in a matter of hours. Freshman Daniele Surkovich (Ellicott City, Md./Wilde Lake) swam a 24.13 in the prelims, besting teammate Lindsey Engler’s record of 24.24, which she set last season at the same meet. Soon after, freshman Robin Klein (McMinnville, Ore./McMinnville) beat Surkovich’s time with a 24.06 in a swim-off to determine whether she would advance to the finals or the consolation heat at the evening session. In the finals, Surkovich regained the record, finishing in 23.99 to win the event. Klein placed third in 24.25 and Engler finished eighth in 24.46.

Sophomore Meghan Sackett (Cockeysville, Md./Dulaney/Maryland) broke her third school record in as many meets for the Retrievers and also reset a Patriot Invite record twice. During the morning prelims of the 500-free, Sackett’s 4:53.59 broke the meet record and was just two-hundredths of a second off her own UMBC mark of 4:53.57, which she set last week against Towson. Then in the finals, Sackett lowered both records by more than three seconds, finishing in 4:50.42 to win the event.

Finally, the women’s 200-free relay team of Klein, Engler, senior Elyse Gibson (Nova Scotia, Canada/Queen Elizabeth) and Surkovich broke the school record with a time of 1:36.48 to win the event. The previous mark of 1:37.32 had stood since 1995.

The only other finalist for the women was junior Agnes Stanislawska (Zielona Gora, Poland/LO VI Zielona Gora), who placed third in the 200-IM (2:05.03). In addition, the 400-medley relay team of Stanislawska, freshman Tina Cantwell (Sinking Spring, Pa./The Hill School), Surkovich and Sackett came in second (3:55.20).

On the men’s side, freshmen Justin Bronson (Oshawa, Ontario, Canada/MSGR. Paul Dwyer), Freddie Reitz (Ellicott City, Md./Howard) and Evan Roseberry (Sinking Spring, Pa./Wilson) all placed in the top eight in the 500-free, with Bronson finishing second (4:32.20), Reitz coming in third (4:34.43) and Roseberry placing fifth (4:35.06).

In the 200-IM, senior Adam Blais (Westbrook, Maine/Westbrook) placed second (1:53.41) and junior Juan Ortiz (Cali, Columbia/Indian River CC) finished fourth (1:54.58). Junior Tim Conway (Brick, N.J./Brick Township Memorial) came in seventh in the 50-free (21.43), while junior diver Jeff Salgado (Glen Rock, Pa./South Western/St. Bonaventure) placed fifth on the 3-meter board (260.80).

Finally, the men’s 200-free relay of freshman Milos Djukic (Novi Sad, Serbia & Montenegro/Svetozar Markovic), Blais, Ortiz and Conway came in third (1:25.45), while the 400-medley relay of Djukic, sophomore Scott Auchter (Wernersville, Pa./Wilson), senior Geza Szabo (Szolnok, Hungary/Ady Endre Gimnazium) and Bronson also placed third (3:25.39).

“I’m so happy with the way the teams are swimming,” head coach Chad Cradock said. “Since I’ve been head coach at UMBC, this is the best day we’ve had for both the men’s and women’s programs together. Both teams are doing so well.”

Action continues Saturday, with prelims starting at 10 a.m. and finals beginning at 6 p.m.

Team Rankings - Through Event 12
Female Team Scores
1   DUKE             206
2   UMBC             198
3   YALE             171
4   UNCW             147
5   GEORGE MASON     133
6   SHIPPENSBURG      57
7   GEORGE WASHINGTON 45
7   SETON HALL        45
9   HOWARD            33
10  GEORGETOWN        28
11  AMERICAN          22
Male Team Scores
1   YALE             293
2   UMBC             221
3   UNCW             210
4   DUKE             130
5   GEORGE MASON     105
6   GEORGE WASHINGTON 82
7   SETON HALL        73
8   SHIPPENSBURG      40
9   GEORGETOWN        39
10  AMERICAN          38
11  HOWARD             9