YORK, Pa. – The Stevens Institute of Technology women's swimming team headed into the final day of the Middle Atlantic Conference Championships needing a big day to take home the team title and they delivered, winning three of the five events on the day including the 400-yard freestyle relay to take home the MAC Championship in their first year in the new conference.
Senior
Isabella Fairman was named MAC Swimmer of the Year after winning gold in six total events including three individual races. Fairman helped the Ducks capture their first conference crown since winning the Empire 8 Conference title in 2012-13.
Stevens set a new meet record for points in the event with 1178.5 to edge out Misericordia who finished as the runner-up with 1131 points. The Ducks collected 16 total medals in the event including eight gold, three of which came from relay events, and seven silver.
Senior
Samantha Zdesar started the day with a bang, winning the 1,650-yard freestyle with a personal-best final time of 17:37.86.
Fairman followed up her classmate by giving the Ducks another victory in the very next race by grabbing gold in the 100-yard freestyle with a final time of 52.62.
After freshman
Emma Beaney earned the silver in the 200-yard breaststroke, Stevens led the meet by 41.5 points heading into the final event.
The 400 free relay team ended any idea of a Misericordia comeback, however, as the team consisting of
Isabelle Rivera,
Madie DeJong, Zdesar and Fairman touched the wall in 3:32.65 to win the event by nearly seven seconds.
Top Performers
- Zdesar narrowly missed on swimming an NCAA B cut time in the 1,650 free as her final time was just six seconds off the standard. Regardless, Zdesar finishes the meet as a four-time First Team All-MAC honoree and three-time Second Team selection.
- Carolyn Wang and Corrine Rybarski also earned points in the event for the Ducks as they finished in 10th and 13th place, respectively.
- Fairman won the 100 free by over a second to earn 32 points for Stevens and is now a 13-time First Team All-Conference selection in her illustrious career.
- The Ducks also got points from Hannah Percely and Sarah Chan who finished in 18th and 20th place to combine for 12 points.
- By nature of Fairman's win in the 100, Stevens won all six freestyle events in the meet thanks to Fairman winning the 100, 200 and 500, Rivera earning gold in the 50 and Zdesar producing a first-place finish in the 1,650.
- April Ullrich was the Ducks' top finisher in the 200-yard backstroke as she earned ninth place with a final time of 2:13.80. Teammate Audrey Fanning finished just behind Ullrich in 11th while Wang touched in 21st.
- In her first year as a collegiate swimmer, Beaney became a three-time Second Team All-Conference performer after finishing runner-up in the 200 breast with a final time of 2:26.77.
- Alexis Colasurdo also finished inside the top-five with a fifth place time of 2:31.19. Katelyn Chen and Kyla Barry added more points as they finished in 19th and 21st, respectively.
- Not only did Stevens win the 400 free relay, the "B" team consisting of Rybarski, Percely, Wang and Colarsurdo combined for a time of 3:47.44 for 15th place to provide extra cushion.
- For a full breakdown of the All-Conference performers, click here.
From the Pool (Head Coach Paul Hughes)
- "We could not be more proud of this team. Through the highs and lows of the four-day meet, they became greater than the sum of their parts. It was special to watch, and I hope they can take time to appreciate their individual and team successes. Go Ducks!"
Stevens All-MAC Performers
DAVID B. EAVENSON AWARD (Recognized MAC Swimmer of the Year)
ALL-MAC FIRST TEAM
Relay Events
Individual Events
ALL-MAC SECOND TEAM
Relay Events
Individual Events
ALL-MAC THIRD TEAM
Individual Events
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