UMBC

Daniele Surkovich won the women's Ocean Mile Swim in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., on Dec. 30.

Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.-The UMBC men’s and women’s swimming and diving team traveled to southern Florida Dec. 27 to Jan. 2, training at St. Andrew’s High School in Boca Raton and participating in the Ocean Mile Swim in Ft. Lauderdale.

Freshman Daniele Surkovich (Ellicott City, Md./Wilde Lake) won the women’s competition, completing the mile in 18 minutes, 3 seconds. Freshman Freddie Reitz (Ellicott City, Md./Howard) finished eighth overall on the men’s side with a time of 17 minutes, 34 seconds. As a team, the Retriever men won the event, which is sponsored by the International Swimming Hall of Fame, with a combined time of 1:31.34, while the women placed second in 1:35.39.

Reitz finished third among college freshman behind Donald Ellison and Dan Kish of Eastern Michigan. Kyle Wisor (Silver Spring, Md./John F. Kennedy) and Justin Bronson (Oshawa, Ontario/Msgr. Paul Dwyer) took fourth and fifth in 18 minutes, 7 seconds and 18 minutes, 23 seconds, respectively. Milos Djukic (Novi Sad, Serbia & Montenegro/Svetozar Markovic) and P.J. Sterba (Frederick, Md./Gov. Thomas Johnson) placed eighth and ninth, while Josh Nachman (Ellicott City, Md./Wilde Lake) finished 13th.

With a time of 18 minutes, 40 seconds, Adam Eiben (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) placed third among college sophomores behind Eric Nedt of St. Olaf College and Steve Bowling of Eastern Michigan. Joey Sementelli (Framingham, Mass./Framingham), Scott Auchter (Wernersville, Pa./Wilson) and Andrew Cheung (Tecumseh, Ontario/Vincent Massey) finished sixth, seventh and eighth, respectively, while Colin Weick (Rockville, Md./Walter Johnson) took 10th and Alejandro Lopez (Mexico City, Mexico/The Bolles School) came in 14th.

With a time of 17 minutes, 22 seconds, Brian Jaeggi (Newmarket, Ontario/Sacred Heart) placed third among college juniors behind Steve Hill of Eastern Michigan and Joe Anderson of St. Olaf. Juan Ortiz (Cali, Colombia/Indian River CC), John Saums (Edison, N.J./St. Joseph) and Tim Conway (Brick, N.J./Brick Township Memorial) finished fifth, sixth and seventh, respectively.

Joe Raymond (Laurel, Md./DeMatha) placed second among college seniors with a time of 18 minutes, 26 seconds, while Adam Blais (Westbrook, Maine/Westbrook) took fourth and Nebojsa Zimonjic (Belgrade, Serbia & Montenegro/Calvert Hall/CCBC-Essex) finished sixth.

On the women’s side, Surkovich led the freshmen, followed by Elisha Peregino (Abingdon, Md./Edgewood) in fourth and Brittany Bertoli (Lancaster, Pa./Hempfield) in sixth. Robin Klein (McMinnville, Ore./McMinnville) and Joy Wilde (Greenlawn, N.Y./Harborfields) took seventh and eighth, respectively, while Tina Cantwell (Sinking Spring, Pa./The Hill School) placed 11th, Christina Ng (Bethpage, N.Y./Plainedge) finished 16th and Courtney White (Woodbridge, Va./C.D. Hylton) came in 18th.

With a time of 19 minutes, 3 seconds, Erin Mathews (Newtown, Pa./Council Rock) placed second among college sophomores, followed by Lindsey Engler (Salisbury, Md./James M. Bennett) in third and Carly Fitzpatrick (Delran, N.J./Delran) in fourth. Mary Scott (Plainview, N.Y./Bethpage) came in seventh, while Rachel Lesslie (Kingston, Ontario/Holy Cross) and Lisa Robinson (Bethesda, Md./Walt Whitman) finished 13th and 14th, respectively.

With a time of 19 minutes, 34 seconds, Jess Rowton (College Park, Md./Eleanor Roosevelt) placed third among college juniors behind Julie Kocka of Hiram College and Liz Yager of Duquesne University. Kristen Moorby (Cape May, N.J./Lower Cape May Regional) finished seventh with a time of 20 minutes, 54 seconds.

Amber Harris (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Arcadia) placed fourth among college seniors with a time of 19 minutes, 9 seconds, while Elyse Gibson (Nova Scotia, Canada/Queen Elizabeth) finished sixth in 19 minutes, 22 seconds.

In addition to the Ocean Mile Swim, which took place on Dec. 30, the Retrievers trained all week at St. Andrew’s High School in Boca Raton, Fla. The week culminated in an unscored exhibition dual meet, in which the men took on Notre Dame and the women swam against Wagner.

The Retrievers return to action Wednesday, Jan. 11, when they host Howard at 2 p.m. at the UMBC Natatorium. With a perfect 7-0 dual meet record, the UMBC women are ranked fourth in the Mid-Major Power Rankings, while the men are ninth at 4-3.