The Massachusetts swim and dive teams both fell in hard-fought matches to Bryant on Saturday afternoon in Smithfield, Rhode Island. The Minutemen (0-3) ultimately fell 172-125 to the male Bulldogs (5-3), while the Minutewomen (0-5) lost 176.5-123.5 to the female Bulldogs (6-2).
The UMass men’s team secured 18 top-three finishes and six individual gold medals, while its women’s team finished with 22 top-three finishes and five individual gold medals.
The standout on the day for the men’s swim team was freshman Chase Keeler, who picked up multiple gold medals for the Minutemen. His first gold medal was earned in the 200 backstroke, finishing with a 1:54.33 time. Keeler followed that performance up with a first-place finish in the 200 individual medley at 1:58.50. Freshman Zach Szabo got a bronze medal in the 200 backstroke, continuing the strong campaign from both teams’ freshman classes.
Sophomore Lindsay Burbage has been a standout thus far for the Minutewomen, and she continued her streak of good results on Saturday. Burbage acquired another gold medal by finishing first in the 100 breaststroke with a 1:05.58 time. Burbage also placed second in the 200 breaststroke with a 2:25.03 time to go home with multiple medals on the day.
Both teams saw success on the boards, taking three of four possible gold medals overall. Junior Andrew Bell continued his excellent season for the Minutemen’s dive team, as he placed first in both the one-meter dive and the three-meter dive with 360.68 points and 384.75 points respectively. Junior Shreeya Sinha finished first in the three-meter dive for the Minutewomen, scoring 258.68 points. Freshman Danielle Guerin finished second in the three-meter with a 247.65 score, while junior Salem Howes placed second and Guerin placed third in the one-meter dive.
Senior Anna Kwon started the Minutewomen off strong, securing first place in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:57.03.
The UMass freshmen continued their strong showing this season as freshman Karinne Everly finished first in the 100 freestyle with a time of 54.17. In the 50 freestyle, first-years Courtney Tedesco and Elizabeth Lahmann finished second and third respectively with 24.67 and 24.85 times. Freshman Hannah Schoenauer finished first in the 200 individual medley with a 2:12.04 while sophomore Diya Ackerman-Vallala got third with a 2:13.19 time.
On the men’s side, sophomore Aydin Erkan earned first place in the 200 butterfly with a 1:53.75 while graduate Juan Montori rounded out the top three with a 1:58.16 time. Senior Grant Beebe finished second in the 100 butterfly with a 51.19.
Sammy Quigg had multiple top three finishes on the day, continuing his strong junior campaign. The Florida native had a first-place finish in the 100 freestyle with a 46.31 time while also placing second in the 50 freestyle with a 21.28. Aidan Shepston earned a bronze medal in the 100 freestyle with a 48.34 time.
Both UMass teams finished with two silver medals in the relay events. A team of Quigg, Beebe, freshman Nate Derby and senior Beau Bengston finished with a 1:33.87 time in the men’s 200 medley relay. Shepston, Bengston, Beebe and Quigg had a 1:25.56 time in the 200 freestyle relay.
The women’s 200 medley relay with Burbage, graduate Ashley Calderon, graduate Bri Williams and sophomore Beren Cakiroglu combined for a 1:47.80 time and a silver medal in the 200 medley relay. Lahmann, Tedesco, Williams and Cakiroglu came together to complete the 200 freestyle relay with a 1:38.88 time in the event.
Both the Minutemen and Minutewomen have a two-week turnaround before heading to Hanover, New Hampshire on Jan. 17 and 18 to compete in the Tate Ramsden Invitational.
Irwin Mburu can be reached at [email protected] and on X @IrwinMburu.
