UMBC

Junior Daniele Surkovich is tonight's top seed in the 500 freestyle at the Patriot Invite.

FAIRFAX, Va.—The UMBC men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams have completed the first preliminary session of the 2007 George Mason Patriot Invitational and will see 35 swims in the finals session tonight.  Sixteen of those swims will be in the finals meet, 13 in the consolation final, and six in the bonus final.

Junior Daniele Surkovich (Ellicott City, Md./Wilde Lake) and freshman Brad Reitz (Ellicott City, Md./Howard) led the Retrievers in the morning swims and will be coming back for the finals session as the top seeds in their respective events, the 500 freestyle and 200 individual medley.  Surkovich swam a time of 4:58.48 in the preliminary heats to claim the top spot, while Reitz turned in a time of 1:54.08 in the 200 IM.

Freshman Rebecca Godwin (Catonsville, Md./Notre Dame Prep) joins Surkovich in the finals of the 500 as the sixth seed, while the Retrievers claim the third, fourth, and seventh spots in the 200 IM with senior Eric Skrabacz (Hollywood, Md./Leonardtown), sophomore Matt Mattingly (Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill West), and senior Adam Eiben (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin).

Junior Evan Roseberry (Sinking Spring, Pa./Wilson) leads the men’s 500, turning in a time of 4:37.99 in the prelims for the third seed, while junior Freddie Reitz (Ellicott City, Md./Howard), junior Justin Bronson (Oshawa, Ontario, Canada/Msgr. Paul Dwyer), and freshman Mat Carson (Toronto, Ontario, Canada/Silverthorn Collegiate Institute), who are seeded fourth, sixth, and eighth, respectively, will also join him.

Sophomore Tereza Kaplanova (Prague, Czech Republic/J.G. Jankovskeho) and junior Tina Cantwell (Sinking Spring, Pa./The Hill School) are the lone representatives for UMBC in the final of the 200 IM, turning in times of 2:08.46 and 2:08.70 for the third and fourth seeds.

In the final individual event for Day 1, the 50 free, senior Lindsey Engler (Salisbury, Md./James M. Bennett) will represent the Retrievers, turning in a prelims and personal-best time of 24.07 for the number three seed, while three Retrievers will swim in the men’s final.  Sophomore Zach Vonder Haar (Gahanna, Ohio/Columbus Academy) will enter the evening as the fourth seed, swimming a personal-best time of 21.39 in the prelims, and will be joined by junior Sven Schneider (Tallinn, Estonia/Tallinn German Gymnasium/LSU) and sophomore Rasmus Kutt (Tallinn, Estonia/Gustav Adolf Gymnazium).

In addition, the Retrievers will also compete in the 200 freestyle and 400 medley relays in tonight’s finals session which are set to begin at 6:00 p.m.