Men’s Swimming Advances Five to Championship Finals

Jason Brisson Earns Pair of Championship Berths

11/16/07 5:13PM

COLLEGE PARK, MD - William and Mary’s men’s swimming and diving team advanced 19 swimmers out of preliminaries Friday at the Terrapin Cup Invitational, including sending five into the championships finals.

In the 200 free, sophomore Kevin Gallagher (Bridgewater, N.J.) placed seventh in the qualifying round with a time of 1:43.21 to earn a shot at the event title this evening. Grad student Nick Duda (Vienna, Va.), senior captain Alex Jendzejec (Reston, Va.), and freshman Austin Baraki (Virginia Beach, Va.) all earned spots in the consolation finals. Sophomore Joe DeBiase (Moon Township, Pa.) is the top seed in the bonus consolation race after timing 1:45.58, and senior captain Matt Shoulders (Roanoke, Va.) will join him there after qualifying in a time of 1:46.70.

Freshman Geoff Ramsdell (Richmond, Va.) was just one second off of the freshman record in the 100 fly this morning, timing 51.90 seconds to advance to the consolation finals this evening. Sophomore Kevin Lynch (Richmond, Va.), who was 18th in 52.24, and junior Nader Amer (Yorktown, Va.), 24th in 52.55, each qualified for the bonus consolation race in the same event.

Junior Shawn Matthews (Rumson, N.J.) timed 51.89 seconds in the 100 backstroke to qualify for the championship finals as the fourth seed, just behind the personal-record pace he swam to lead-off the 400 medley relay last night (51.62). An amazing four Tribe swimmers qualified for the consolation finals, including junior David Mangini (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.), sophomore Marshall Raiskin (Orlando, Fla.), Gallagher, and Ramsdell.

Junior Jason Brisson (Richmond, Va.) earned the five-seed in the 100 breast championship finals, timing 58.30 seconds in preliminaries. Freshman Jim Fenningham (Philadelphia, Pa.) earned a spot in the consolation finals after timing 1:00.02, and sophomore Drew de Michaelis (Washington, D.C.) made it into the bonus consolation race with his qualifying time of 1:00.87.

Brisson and Mangini also qualified for the championship finals of the 400 IM, swimming 4:10.55 and 4:11.55 this morning, respectively. Jendzejec also advanced in the event, making the consolation finals after timing 4:18.54.

The finals of today’s events, plus the 200 medley relay, 800 free relay, and 1-Meter diving, will be decided tonight.

2007 Terrapin Cup Invitational
Standings after Friday Morning
1. Connecticut 464
2. West Chester 344
3. Maryland 323
4. WILLIAM AND MARY 248
5. Drexel 160
6. Villanova 91
7. Mary Washington 67