Merchant Marine continued its dominance over Landmark Conference men’s swimming and diving, scoring a record 950 points to claim the 2014 Landmark Conference Championship. USMMA remains the only team to ever win the Landmark and picked up its 16th straight conference title. The Mariners won 14 of the 20 events, shattering numerous records and reaching seven NCAA qualifying marks.
Kevin Lindgren was named Landmark Conference Swimmer of the Year for a second straight season. The junior won eight Landmark Conference events, including relays and reached three individual NCAA cuts. Freshman Stone Hewitt also accounted for three individual NCAA “B” cuts as well as teaming with Lindgren and two teammates for a NCAA qualifying time in a relay.
William Porter earned his second consecutive Landmark Conference Diver of the Year accolades. Head Coach Sean Tedesco and Diving Coach Johan Lopez were named Co-Coaching Staff of the Year.
On Friday, Lindgren posted a superb swim in the 200 backstroke, finishing a whole six seconds under the NCAA “B” cut to win the event in 1:47.03. Blair Roberts placed third in the event with a time of 1:55.08. Hewitt took gold in the 200 breaststroke with a 2:04.93, clipping the NCAA “B” cut. USMMA put three swimmers in the top-four of the event with Karl Sasse and John Terselic coming in third and fourth, respectively. Austin Butt was first in the 100 freestyle as he won by just one-tenth of a second, finishing in 47.31 seconds. Alvaro Brice was third in the race, .14 seconds behind his teammate. Jordan Cripe completed the mile swim in 16:33.00 as the sophomore took second-place. The 400 freestyle relay team of Lindgren, Brice, Butt and Joshua McCormick raced to a pool record of 3:05.89.
Hewitt and Lindgren lit up the scoreboard and rewrote the record books Saturday. Hewitt was comfortably under the NCAA “B” cut and set new Academy, conference, meet and pool records as he won the 100 breaststroke in 55.91 seconds. Lindgren claimed gold in the 100 backstroke with a blistering fast swim of 55.91 to establish a new meet and pool record that was just one second off the NCAA automatic “A” cut. Both Lindgren and Hewitt were members of the 200 medley relay squad, along with Butt and Hunter Rowan that broke the Academy record and also won a Landmark Conference title with a time of 1:33.37. Alvaro Brice touched first in the 200 freestyle, while senior Joshua McCormick took third in 1:45.50. The Mariners earned second and third in the 100 fly as William Kelsik captured All-Landmark Second-Team honors with Rowan touching just .08 seconds behind for third. Porter completed his sweep of the diving events, posting 464.10 points to claim the 1-meter for the second straight year. The standings were identical to the 3-meter event as Ryan Mavity and Sean Higgins rounded out a USMMA filled top-three. The 800 freestyle relay contingent of McCormick, Brice, Butt, and Jordan Kendall swam to a 7:00.93 victory.
Lindgren smashed the NCAA “B” cut as he won the 200 IM with a new Academy, conference, meet, and pool record of 1:50.71. Butt claimed third-place as he touched in at 1:57.00. The 400 medley relay team of Lindgren, Hewitt, Rowan and Joshua McCormick shattered the Academy and conference records with a mark of 3:22.75 and should have the relay team in contention for a trip to the NCAA Championships. The 200 freestyle relay squad of Lindgren, Butt, Alvaro Brice and McCormick touched in at 1:23.96 for victory. USMMA also dominated the 3-meter diving competition as Porter, Mavity and Higgins took first, second, and third, respectively.
Porter scored 526.60 points to win the conference crown as well as make the NCAA qualifying mark and establish a new pool record. Mavity also met the NCAA standard as the rookie took second-place in his first-ever event at the Landmark Conference Championships.
The USMMA women’s swimming and diving team placed fifth over the weekend at the championships. The weekend saw the Merchant Marine women take down six Academy records and Elizabeth Jackson claim a Landmark Conference title on the 3-meter diving board. The Mariners had been in seventh place following each of the first two days of competition before charging into fifth by the end of the event.
Men’s Basketball
The USMMA men’s basketball team overcame a tough effort from the Vaughn Warriors Sunday afternoon to claim a 70-64 victory inside O’Hara Hall. Payton Ball dropped in a career-high 12 points while Nick Sergio led the way with 18 points. The Mariners finished the day with a 44-32 rebounding advantage. USMMA also beat Goucher Saturday, 98-86.
Women’s Basketball
The USMMA women’s basketball team chipped away at a 20-point advantage but the Mariners final possession did not go as scripted Saturday afternoon in a 62-59 setback against Goucher. Sara Ellenberger added a season-high 10 points, while Demi VanDerWal had a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds to go along with eight steals.
