For Immediate Release: February 9, 2007
Contact: Anthony G. Naglieri (sports@binghamton.edu)
Phone: 607-777-2956

Swimming & Diving crowns three individual champions on Day 2 of America East Championships
BU men vault into second after sweep of individual events; women draw even with Stony Brook for sixth place

Day 2 Results
Day 1 Recap

BOSTON -- The Binghamton University men's swimming and diving team crowned three individual champions sweeping the full slate of individual events to highlight the action on the second day of competition at the America East Championships on Friday at Boston University's Aquatic Center.

The stellar performance of the men's squad propelled the Bearcats into second place (252), behind current leader and defending champions UMBC (313.5). On the women's side, three individual lifetime best swims and a terrfic relay effort has moved the Bearcats into a tie for sixth place with SUNY rival Stony Brook.

Senior David Holmes (Doncaster, England) claimed the gold for the Bearcats in the 500-yard freestyle, shattering the previous meet record in the by six seconds, with an NCAA B cut time of 4:22.80.

"Dave delivered an absolutely remarkable swim," said head coach Sean Clark. "He attacked the race and swam hard. It was fun to watch."

Freshman Brian Jacobs (Bloomingburg, N.Y.) swam a lifetime best and ECAC qualifying time of 4:43.86 to win the consolation final and claim ninth in the 500.

In the 200-yard individual medley, seniors Brian Koizim (White Plains, N.Y.) and sophomore Brenno Varanda (St. Petersburg, Fla.) went one-two with times of 1:50.13 and 1:51.03, each touching a full two seconds ahead of the field. Senior Trevor Stone (Windsor, N.Y.) was also a finalist in the event, joining the fleet duo in seventh place (1:56.50), while teammate Andrew Palumbo (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) captured the consolation final, finishing ninth overall (1:57.15).

Freshman Philip Dzieniszewski (Bayside, N.Y.) capped off BU's clean sweep touching first with a lifetime best 21.22 in the 50 free.

"Philip certainly shocked a lot of people, but he didnt fool his coach," said Clark. "I was just thrilled to see him step up in such grand fashion. He was huge for us."

Sophomore Brian Koralewski (Floral Park, N.Y.) joined Dzieniszewski in the 50 finals, posting a fifth place finish in an ECAC qualifying time of 21.35.

On the women's side, freshman Lindsay Wright (Johnson City, N.Y.) was the Bearcats' lone finalist, finishing eighth in the 50 free in a time of 24.93.

Freshman duo Taryn Ferrara (Morristown, N.J.) and Allyce Brand (Highland Park, Illinois) both posted lifetime best and ECAC qualifying swims finishing 12th in the 50-yard freestyle (25.15) and 15th in the 200-yard individual medley (2:14.99), respectively.

On the boards, Sophomore diver Kate Hassfurter (Horseheads, N.Y.) took eighth in the 3-meter championships totaling 219.85 points.

BU's 200-yard freestyle relay came in fifth ahead of both Vermont and Stony Brook, qualifying for next week's ECAC meet with a time of 1:38.40. The trio of Brand, Ferrara and Wright teamed up with sophomore Aleksandra Grubic (Split, Croatia) to record the women's top finish in the event since the 2003-04 season.

"We are looking forward to the next couple of days," said Clark. "It is a good start, but we got a lot of work to do."

Day three of the four-day event continues on Saturday with two sessions of events. The first session of the day gets underway at 10 a.m., followed by the day’s second session at 6 p.m.