FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason women's and men's swimming and diving teams won seven events and earned 11 top-three finishes on day one against Towson and Northeastern in the Jim McKay Natatorium.
After 12 of the 38 events in the meet, the Mason men's team leads Towson 68-41, while the women's team trails Northeastern 59-51 and Towson 69-41.
On the women's side, the combination of seniors Sydney Fisher and Steff Maurer, along with junior Rachel Williams and sophomore Marla Albanese began the day with a first-place finish in the 200-yard freestyle relay (1:36.05).
Fisher also won the 50-yard freestyle (23.14). In the 200-yard IM, senior Sarah Brallier placed second (2:07.57), with junior Amy Tansill finishing third (2:11.56).
In the final event of the day, the Patriots notched a third-place finish in the 400-yard medley relay. Junior Dorothy Reilly, along with Williams, Tansill and Albanese combined for a time of 3:55.41.
The Mason men's team won five of 12 events on day one.
Senior Zepher Begnell, juniors Alec Morin and Hagen Dietrich and freshman Christopher Stankiewicz began the day with a first place finish in the 200-yard freestyle relay (1:23.25).
The Patriots took three of the top four spots in the 200-yard IM. Junior Steven Craig won the event (1:54.92), freshman Garrett Anderson placed third (1:55.88) and senior Evan Owens was fourth (1:56.08).
Freshman Attila Kiss touched the wall first in the 1,650-yard freestyle (15:55.18), winning the event by more than 14 seconds. Mason went one-two in the 50-yard freestyle, with Morin earning the top spot (21.12), just ahead of Begnell (21.41).
Junior Matthew Lynch, freshman Ryan Donnelly, Stankiewicz and Morin combined for a second-place finish in the 400-yard medley relay (3:26.72). Freshman Logan Eubanks, Anderson, Dietrich and Kiss placed third (3:33.81) in the event.
Senior Paul Helfgott won the one-meter springboard diving event by 66 points, finishing with a score of 264.10. Freshman William Dubuque was third with a score of 163.40 and classmate Wilson Sullivan was fourth with a score of 145.65.
The Patriots are back in action on Saturday against and Northeastern and Towson, with the first session scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. and the second session slated for 2 p.m. in the Jim McKay Natatorium.
