UMBC

Freshman Brad Reitz is the top seed for the 100 fly at tonight's finals sesssion.

, Va.—The UMBC men’s and women’s swimming diving teams have finished the second day of preliminary competition at the 2007 George Mason Patriot Invitational in Fairfax, Va.  The Retrievers will see 27 swims in the finals heats, 18 in the consolation finals, and 11 in the bonus finals during tonight’s finals session.

Four Retrievers will enter tonight’s competition as the top seeds in their respective events with sophomore Tereza Kaplanova (Prague, Czech Republic/J.G. Jankovskeho) leading the way as the top seed in both the 400 individual medley and the 100 backstroke.  Kaplanova swam a career-best time of 59.56 to claim the top seed in the 100 back and a time of 4:37.99 to claim the top spot in the 400 IM.  Junior Tina Cantwell (Sinking Spring, Pa./The Hill School) posted the fastest time in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:05.17, and is seeded behind Kaplanova in second place in the 400 IM.

Other finalists on the women’s side include freshman Rebecca Godwin (Catonsville, Md./Notre Dame Prep), who is ranked fourth in the 400 IM, sophomore Lindsay Sherman (Bethany, Conn./Amity) who is seventh in the 100 butterfly, and junior Daniele Surkovich (Ellicott City, Md./Wilde Lake), who is third in the 200 freestyle.

On the men’s side, junior Justin Bronson (Oshawa, Ontario, Canada/Msgr. Paul Dwyer) was the morning leader in the 200 freestyle, turning in a time of 1:42.28, and ranks second in the 100 butterfly, behind freshman teammate Brad Reitz (Ellicott City, Md./Howard) who holds the fastest time with a mark of 50.56.  Reitz also joins Bronson in the 200 free as the fourth side, while his brother, junior Freddie Reitz (Ellicott City, Md./Howard) is sixth, junior P.J. Sterba (Frederick, Md./Gov. Thomas Johnson) is seventh, and freshman Keilan Freeman (Calgary, Alberta, Canada/Argyll Centre) is eighth.

The Retrievers are deep in the 100 fly as well, as three more Retrievers in addition to Reitz and Bronson will also swim in the final.  Sophomores Matt Mattingly (Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill West) and Zach Vonder Haar (Gahanna, Ohio/Columbus Academy) are ranked fourth and seventh, respectively, while junior Sven Schneider (Tallinn, Estonia/Tallinn German Gymnasium/LSU) will swim in the fifth spot.

Other finalists on the men’s side include freshmen Mat Carson (Toronto, Ontario, Canada/Silverthorn Collegiate Institute) and Freeman, who are ranked second and third in the 400 IM, junior Evan Roseberry (Sinking Spring, Pa./Wilson) who is fourth, and senior Adam Eiben (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin), who is seventh in the same event.

Senior Scott Auchter (Wernersville, Pa./Wilson) takes the top Retriever spot in the 100 breast, ranking fourth, while Mattingly is fifth and freshman Phil Novotny (Fairfield, Conn./Fairfield Warde) is sixth.  Sophomore Rasmus Kutt (Tallinn, Estonia/Gustav Adolf Gymnasium), junior Milos Djukic (Novi Sad, Serbia/Svetozar Markovic) and Schneider complete the list of finalists as they finished the morning ranked second, third, and fifth in the 100 back, respectively.

The Retrievers will also field relay teams in the 200 medley and 800 freestyle relays tonight as well as see the finals of the men’s 3-meter diving with the competition scheduled to kick off at 6:00 p.m.