UMBC

FAIRFAX, Va.—The UMBC men’s and women’s swimming and diving team have completed the first preliminary session of the 2008 George Mason Patriot Invitational and saw two Retrievers qualify first for the finals tonight at 6 p.m.

Junior Sam Maccherola (Woolford, Md./South Carroll/Tennessee) and senior Justin Bronson (Oshawa, Ontario, Canada/Msgr. Paul Dwyer) led the Retrievers and will be coming back for the finals tonight as the first seeds in the 500 free events. Maccherola finished in a season-best 5:03.17, while Bronson touched in a season-best 4:30.71.

In the 500 freestyle final, Maccherola will be joined by senior Daniele Surkovich (Ellicott City, Md./Wilde Lake) and sophomore Rebecca Godwin (Catonsville, Md./Notre Dame Prep), who qualified fourth and fifth. On the men’s side, UMBC placed second, third and fifth behind Bronson, with seniors Evan Roseberry (Sinking Spring, Pa./Wilson) and Freddie Reitz (Ellicott City, Md./Howard) and freshman Mark Garbowski (Cherry Hill, NJ./Cherry Hill West) coming back for the 500 free final.

For the 200 IM finals, junior Tereza Kaplanova (Prague, Czech Republic/Gymnazium J.G. Jankovskeho) and sophomore Julie Cantwell (Sinking Spring, Pa./Wilson) will be seeded third and fifth. On the men’s side, four Retrievers will be in final, led by sophomore Dan Weston-Dawkes (Ellicott City, Md./Wilde Lake), who qualified third.

In the final individual event of the day, four Retriever men will compete in the 50 freestyle, highlighted by sophomore Eric Jones (Gambrills, Md./Arundel) and freshman Jason Mattingly (Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill West), who are seeded second and third.

In addition, the Retrievers will compete in the 200 free and 400 medley relays tonight. Tonight’s session starts at 6 p.m.