October 21, 2006 - UMBC 138 Rider 84
October 21, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
College Swimming & Diving
Men: UMBC 138, Rider University 84
Women: UMBC 135.50, Rider 97.50
BALTIMORE, MD—The Broncs began the 2006-07 season with a loss to the University of Maryland Baltimore County Saturday. “UMBC wins their league almost every year,” said Rider head coach Steve Fletcher. “We put them on our schedule a few years ago to make it more competitive.”
The UMBC men won the America East Championship last year, while the UMBC women placed second at the conference meet. Rider placed second at the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championships in both the men’s and women’s meets.
For the Rider women, senior Courtney Clark (Broomall, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara) won the 1,000 free (10:42.99) and senior Lauren Urbanski (Lansdowne, Pa./Upper Darby ) won the 200 butterfly (2:08.61). Clark won both the 500 and 1000 at the MAAC Championships last year, while Urbanski is the defending MAAC champion in both the 100 and 200 fly. “Courtney is arguably one of the best distance swimmers in the conference,” said Fletcher. “She's the one to beat in her events. She already holds the MAAC records in the 1,000 and 500, but she's trained hard for a great senior year. She wants to go out on top. Lauren is one of the hardest workers on the team when it comes to training. She doesn't back down to challenges in practice. She still has untapped potential and can get even faster.”
For the Rider men, freshman Cleveland Brown V (Fort Defiance, Ariz./Shaker Heights) won the 50 free (21.37) and placed second in the 100 free (48.70). His time in the 50 is the fifth fastest ever by a Bronc. Brown spent the last three years in the Air Force and served a tour of duty in Iraq.
“Cleveland is in a unique position as a leader on the team even though he's a freshman,” said Fletcher. “He has a lot of life experiences he can bring to the team and he has a lot of talent in the sprint events. He was a US Open qualifier in the 50 free, the 100 free and the 100 butterfly, so he has a lot of talent. He's just getting back into the training routine after a five-year lay off. He's stronger and more intelligent now and I expect his improvement curve to be very dramatic.”
Junior Dylan Korn (Hawthorne, N.Y./Westlake) won the one-meter dive (248.92) and placed second in the three-meter dive (223.18). Korn was the MAAC Diver of the Year last season. “Dylan is arguably one of the most successful divers in Rider history with his placement in the zone meet,” said Fletcher. “We never had a finalist at the zone meet before place that high. He's very talented and we're excited because he is still improving.”
Also for the Rider women, sophomore Priscilla Modrov (Smithtown, NY/Hauppauge) placed second in both the 200 individual medley (2:08.11) and the 200 backstroke (2:13.07). Modrov was the Most Outstanding Performer at the MAAC Championships last season as a rookie.
Freshman Kellyanne Tomasula (Sussex, N.J./Vernon Township) placed second in both the 50 free (24.63) and the 100 free (54.00), and sophomore Amanda Burke (Churchville, Pa./William Tennent) placed second in both the one-meter dive (216.89) and the three-meter (189.07) in her Rider debut.
Rider competes at Rutgers against the Scarlet Knights and Seton Hall on Friday.
-RU-
