UMBC

Printer Friendly Printer Friendly  Email This Page Email This Page
News Release

UMBC Swimming and Diving Favorite to Win 2008 America East Titles

10/23/2007


Head coach Chad Cradock will look for his fifth straight men's title and second straight women's title in 2008.

BOSTON—The UMBC men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams have been picked to win the 2008 America East Swimming and Diving Championships, according to a poll by the league’s head coaches, the conference announced Tuesday.

 

On the men’s side, the Retrievers were a unanimous pick, garnering all four first-place votes (coaches were not permitted to vote for their own team) for a total of 16 points while the women received four first-place points and a total of 34 points.

 

Binghamton (12) and Boston University (11) follow the Retrievers to make up the top three picks in the conference, while Stony Brook (7) and Maine (4) round out the five-team field.

 

The Retrievers will look for an unprecedented fifth straight America East crown in 2008 and their 11th straight conference title.  The Retrievers return 16 athletes from the 2007 championship squad and add a host of talent with 15 newcomers, including Sven Schneider, a junior transfer from LSU.

 

Junior tri-captain Justin Bronson (Oshawa, Ontario, Canada/Msgr. Paul Dwyer), will continue to lead the way for the Retrievers in the mid-distance and distance events, but will have a high level of competition and support from his fellow teammates, most notably juniors Freddie Reitz (Ellicott City, Md./Howard), Evan Roseberry (Sinking Spring, Pa./Wilson) and P.J. Sterba (Frederick, Md./Gov. Thomas Johnson), as well as seniors Joey Sementelli (Framingham, Mass./Framingham) and tri-captain Adam Eiben (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin). Sophomores Matt Mattingly (Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill West), Rasmus Kutt (Tallinn, Estonia/Gustav Adolf Gymnasium), and Zach Vonder Haar (Gahanna, Ohio/Columbus Academy) and junior Milos Djukic (Novi Sad, Serbia & Montenegro/Svetozar Markovic) will lead the Retrievers in the sprints, after three of the four (Kutt, Vonder Haar, Djukic) placed in the top-16 at the conference meet. Returning school-record holder and senior tri-captain Scott Auchter (Wernersville, Pa./Wilson) will be a leader coming off two silver medals at the 2007 championships in the 100- and 200-yard breaststroke events.

 

On the women’s side, the 2007 America East champion Retrievers recorded a total of four first-place votes for a total of 34 points, but were followed closely by 2006 America East champion New Hampshire, who finished with two first-place votes and 31 points.  2007 championship runner-up Boston University earned the final first-place vote and ranked third in the poll with 28 points.

 

Vermont (20), Maine (17), Binghamton (10) and Stony Brook (7) round out the seven-team field.

 

The Retrievers will look for their second straight conference crown in 2008 after outdistancing second-place Boston U. by over 100 points to take their first title in 2007.  UMBC returns 15 athletes from the 2007 championship team and adds nine newcomers for the 2007-08 season. 

 

Junior tri-captain Daniele Surkovich (Ellicott City, Md./Wilde Lake) will lead the way after setting new records in the 50-, 100-, and 200-yard freestyle events last year and being an integral part of the 200, 400, and 800 free, and 400 medley relays. Seniors Lindsey Engler (Salisbury, Md./James M. Bennett) and Carly Fitzpatrick (Delran, N.J./Delran) as well as juniors Christina Ng (Bethpage, N.Y./Plainedge) and Joy Wilde (Greenlawn, N.Y./Harborfields) will round out a solid sprint group. The Retrievers will look to seniors Erin Mathews (Newtown, Pa./Council Rock) and Rachel Lesslie (Kingston, Ontario, Canada/Holy Cross) in the mid-distance and distance events. Lesslie will also provide much-needed experience in the backstroke events, while sophomore Tereza Kaplanova (Prague, Czech Republic/Gymnazium J.G. Jankovskeho) will be relied on in the backstroke. The Retrievers will count on junior tri-captain Tina Cantwell (Sinking Spring, Pa./The Hill School) a double conference champion in the 100 and 200 breast, as well as top eight finishers Wilde and Kaplanova to provide depth in the breaststroke and IM events.

 

The 2008 America East Swimming and Diving Championships will be held from Feb. 14-17 at the University of Maine in Orono, Maine.

 

2007 Men's Coaches' Poll

1. UMBC (4) 16

2. Binghamton 12

3. Boston University (1) 11

4. Stony Brook 7

5. Maine 4

2007 Women's Coaches' Poll

1. UMBC (4) 34

2. New Hampshire (2) 31

3. Boston University (1) 28

4. Vermont 20

5. Maine 17

6. Binghamton 10

7. Stony Brook 7