December 4, 2005 - at Rutgers Super Splash

• Results

December 4, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Rider at Rutgers Super Splash
Men: 5^th of 12, Women: 6^th of 12

PISCATAWAY—The Rider University men’s and women’s swimming & diving teams competed at the Rutgers Super Splash 2005, hosted by Rutgers University this weekend with the hopes that the schedule planning now will work to perfection come February.  Swim a three day mentally and physically exhausting meet against top teams now and gauge where you are in your respective events.  And by the way, the conference championships, again against top competition are a three day, exhausting event.  Plan now and it will be like you’ve been there before.

With a young team this season, that’s exactly why head coach Steve Fletcher wanted to swim the Rutgers Super Splash this past weekend.  Team success is all in the planning.  The plan is going according to form so far with the men’s team finishing tied for fifth and the women’s team finishing in sixth place.

“We respond well to better competition,” said Fletcher, in his fifth season at the helm of the Broncs ship.  “The schedule is specifically planned for the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championships in February and we are going to be ready for MAAC’s by competing in these competitions.”

On Sunday for the men’s team, senior Dan Burgess (Greeley, Colo./Union Colony Prep) finished second in the 100 free (46.00) with senior diver Chris Coles (Plainsboro, N.J./WW-P North) finishing fourth in the three-meter (444.35) and 17^th in the one-meter (180.15), junior Eric McFerin (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) placing sixth in the 100 free (47.23) and sophomore Dylan Korn (Hawthorne, N.Y./Westlake) placing sixth in both the one-meter dive (262.60) and the three-meter dive (433.35).

For Burgess, a senior chemistry major from Colorado, the meet had the right mix as far as testing himself and the team mentally and physically.  “You have to pace yourself over the three days,” Burgess said after the meet.  “You are working on your speed skills but you get cold between events so you have to discipline yourself to warm up hard and also warm down after your race and at the same time get ready for the next race.  The coaches are really good at keeping us mentally focused so we can be prepared to swim as fast as we can.  Most of the other teams have swimmers who swim 1-2 events.  Since almost everyone swims multiple disciplines it’s a lot to get ready for mentally but I take one race at a time.  Your teammates cheering and supporting each other helps you over come the physical part.  The team is really great at supporting each other.”

For the women’s team, freshman Priscilla Modrov (Smithtown, N.Y./Hauppauge) placed sixth in the 200 back (2:07.34) with sophomore Stephanie Cosentino (Staten Island, N.Y./Notre Dame Academy) placing 11^th in the 100 free (54.75), freshman Kelsey Tokar (Frederick, Md./Gov. Thomas Johnson) finishing 12^th in the 1650 free (18:08.41).  Junior Adrianne Glasgow (Davidsonville, Md./Saint Mary's) was 12^th in the 200 butterfly (2:14.25), freshman Erin Crossing (Allentown, Pa./Parkland) was 12^th in the one-meter dive (177.40), senior Jen Feenstra (Reading, Pa./Governor Mifflin) was 13^th in the 200 butterfly (2:12.30), freshman Kristen Warwick (Catonsville, Md./Mount de Sales Academy) was 13^th in the 1650 free (18:11.82) and junior Shannen Kahler (Ojai, Calif./Chaparral/Grossmont CC) was 13^th in the one-meter dive (338.35) and 16^th in the three-meter dive (167.10).

“Adjusting from high school to college has been a challenge,” said Modrov.  “The biggest difference is the team atmosphere.  Everyone is pulling for each other to swim to the best of their ability.  It was tough doing my first three day meet but once the races start and the team gets into it, it’s not too bad.  Everyone stepped up and put in a lot of effort.  We did very well supporting each other.”

Also for the men’s team, junior Brandon Modrov (Smithtown, N.Y./Hauppauge) was seventh in the 200 breast (2:08.22), junior Andy French (Richfield, Minn./Richfield Senior) placed eighth in the 1650 free (16:31.68), sophomore Peter Starr (Boyertown, Pa./Boyertown Area Senior) was 16^th in the 200 back (1:58.40) and freshman Frank Ippolito (Hillsborough, N.J./Hillsborough) was 24^th in the 200 breast.

The men’s 400 free relay of Burgess, Modrov, senior Trevor Vernal (Milford, Conn./Notre Dame) and McFerin finished third with a time of 3:06.81.

Also for the women’s team, senior Lisa Bergh (Holtsville, N.Y./Sachem) was 15^th in the 1650 free (18:48.63), senior Stephanie Kraml (Princeton, N.J./WW P-South) was 15^th in the 200 back (2:15.62), freshman Ericka Kriedel (Wethersfield, Conn./Wethersfield) was 16^th in the 200 back (2:16.77), senior Rose Brenner (Cape May, N.J./Lower Cape May Regional) was 20^th in the 100 free (55.73) and junior Haylay Wittsack (Gaithersburg, Md./Damascus) was 23^rd in the 200 back (2:20.28).

The women’s 400 free relay of Modrov, Cosentino, Feenstra and Brenner placed seventh with a time of 3:40.31.

“We stepped up and responded to the competition we faced,” added Fletcher.  “I thought both the men’s and women’s teams swam very well.  Through the planning of the schedule specifically for post season [MAAC’s and ECAC’s], we build throughout the season to be ready for those meets and I think we are headed in the right direction based on how we swam this weekend.”

It’s all in the plan.  The next part of the plan after winter training in Florida has the Broncs returning to Rutgers to face the Scarlet Knights and Seton Hall on January 11, 2006.

Men’s Team Scores: 1. Rutgers 1241.50, 2. Columbia 1189.50, 3. La Salle, 502.50, 4. TCNJ 477.50, 5. Rider 413, 5. American 413, 7. Drexel 409.50, 8. Villanova 316, 9. Shippensburg 170.50, 10. Lehigh 111, 11. UConn 87, 12. UMass 68.

Women’s Team Scores: 1. Rutgers 1619, 2. Villanova 1450, 3. La Salle 370, 4. Shippensburg 363.50, 5. Drexel 346, 6. Rider 291, 7. American 285.50, 8. TCNJ 214, 9. Lehigh 153, 10. UConn 122, 11. UMass 108, 12. Columbia 15.

-RU-