CAC Championships Day 1: Sea Gulls rack up the points, prepare for Day 2
ST. MARY'S CITY, Md. - Despite unfavorable weather conditions that blanketed the Middle-Atlantic region of the country with snow and ice, the Salisbury University men's and women's swim teams traveled to St. Mary's (Md.) College to compete in the Capital Athletic Conference championships. Th ough the storms didn't stop the meet from commencing, they did make an impact on the competition; the start time was pushed back from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., eliminating the preliminary round, and all of Friday's events were swam as timed championships in place of trials.
After 10 events, the men and women both sit in fifth place; the men, who have 94 points, sit just four points behind York (Pa.) College. The women, who earned 85 points, sit just 15 points shy of Marymount (Va.) University. The Sea Gulls' top finish of the day came at the end of the night as the relay team comprised of senior Mike Ferrari (Columbia, Md.), sophomore Jason Preston (Pasadena, Md.) and freshmen Eric Robichaud (Annapolis, Md.) and Paul Zoli (Fallston, Md.) came in third place in the 400-yard medley relay, posting a time of 3:44.63. The women's side saw several top-ten finishes, including a fifth-place finish by junior Katy Turner (Salisbury, Md.), who posted a time of 2:17.11 in the 200 yard IM race.
The 500 meter freestyle was certainly a successful Sea Gull race as Zoli finished in eighth place with a time of 4:58.02 for the men and sophomore Katie Fitzenreiter (Columbia, Md.) notched a sixth-place finish in the event for the women, clocking in at 5:26.14.
Salisbury will look to pile on the points as the competition continues; the maroon and gold will rely on their arsenal of stellar individual swimmers, as well as solid relay teams, in the 14 events which will take place tomorrow. Mary Washington's men and women currently have a firm grip on the top spot.
The three-day championships continue through Sunday, February 14. Check back on www.suseagulls.com for updated results, as well as complete day-by-day press releases.
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