Marist Sweeps Weekly Swimming and Diving Awards
MAAC Sports
Edison, NJ - Marist College's Jason
Ruddy was named the MAAC Men's Swimmer of the Week, while fellow Red Fox Michelle
Fountain earned the award on the women's side. Marist's Sean Molley and Kimberly Tobias swept the Diver of the Week awards.
Ruddy turned in a record-breaking performance
for the Red Foxes in their final home meet of the season on Saturday versus
Seton Hall. The freshman won all four events that he was entered in; the 200-yd
medley relay, the 100- and 200-yd butterfly and 200-yd IM. Ruddy's meet started
off as a part of the all-freshmen "A" relay team that held a powerful Pirate
"A" squad for the victory at 1:38.00. He then carried his earlier success into
individual events. The 200-yd fly was his first event and he turned in a performance
of a lifetime as he flew to a 7.54 second victory with a final time of 1:52.11.
Mark Esolen's mark of 1:52.29 had stood atop the Marist record books since
2008. The freshman rounded out his afternoon with back-to-back victories in the
100-yd fly with a time of 52.44 and in the 200-yd IM at 1:58.32.
Fountain stood out amongst a strong showing
by the entire women's squad with two individual first place finishes and a
third via relay. In her first event, the 200-yd medley relay, the senior
powered Marist's "A" team down the stretch to victory as they held off Seton
Hall "A" by .14 at 1:50.34. In the anchor leg, Fountain faced off with Seton
Hall's top sprinter Rose Virgilio and took victory for the Red Foxes. Racing in
her final home competition, Fountain took victories in the 100 and 200-yd
freestyle events. In the 200-yd race, she defeated her nearest competitor by
2.48 seconds with a time of 1:54.00. Her second win came in the 100-yd freestyle,
where she easily won again with a 53.67 time and 2.42 second margin.
Molloy continued his strong sophomore
campaign in diving action as he swept the boards with a 285.67 showing in the
1-meter and a 297.75 effort in the 3-meter. He won the 3-meter event by a
substantial 44.55 point margin.
Tobias
continued her strong debut season for Marist on Jan. 28 when the Red Foxes
hosted Seton Hall. The freshman swept of the 1-meter and 3-meter boards. In the
1-meter, she won by 41.70 points at 252.15. Tobias was victorious in the
3-meter with a 20.33 point margin of victory at 247.50.
The 2012 MAAC Swimming & Diving Championships will be held Thursday, February 16
through Saturday, February 18, 2012 at Erie Community College in
Buffalo, NY, hosted by Canisius College and Niagara University.
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