UMass Swimming and Diving Earn Podium Finishes on Day One at Colgate Invitational
- The University of Massachusetts swimming and diving teams opened competition at the Colgate Invitational at the Lineberry Natatorium in Hamilton, New York, with multiple podium finishes, UMass Athletics...
- Senior Olga Stoura started the individual events for the Minutewomen by placing sixth in the 1,650 freestyle with a time of 18:50.74.
- Junior Maria Grishaeva secured the bronze medal for the Minutewomen in the women's 400 individual medley, clocking a 4:40.77.
The University of Massachusetts swimming and diving teams opened competition at the Colgate Invitational at the Lineberry Natatorium in Hamilton, New York, with multiple podium finishes, UMass Athletics reported. While the opening day featured several strong individual swims and relay performances, the exact team standings for the invitational have not yet been finalized or released by tournament organizers.
Olga Stoura and Miles Smyczek Open Day One With Distance Finishes
Senior Olga Stoura started the individual events for the Minutewomen by placing sixth in the 1,650 freestyle with a time of 18:50.74. For the Minutemen, sophomore Miles Smyczek claimed the bronze medal in the men’s 1,650 freestyle, recording a personal-best time of 16:45.06. Senior Jude Boukarroum followed Smyczek in fourth place with a time of 16:51.93, and sophomore Sota Kawahata rounded out the top five for UMass in fifth with 16:58.56.
UMass Swimmers Sweep Top Podiums in the Individual Medley
Junior Maria Grishaeva secured the bronze medal for the Minutewomen in the women’s 400 individual medley, clocking a 4:40.77. Classmate Karinne Everly added a fifth-place finish in the same event with a time of 4:45.46. The Minutemen dominated the men’s 400 individual medley by taking the top two spots on the podium. Junior Chase Keeler won the gold medal with a time of 4:12.56, while sophomore Chase Dai placed second at 4:19.53.
Liam Hickey Wins Gold in 100 Backstroke
Junior Elizabeth Lahmann opened the 200 freestyle with a fourth-place finish of 1:58.02 for the women’s team. On the men’s side, junior Liam Rayson tied for third in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:45.35, and senior Alonso Montori took sixth in 1:46.63. In backstroke competition, junior Courtney Tedesco finished fifth in the 100 backstroke at 1:00.09, and freshman Mackenzie Gibbons placed sixth at 1:00.55. Sophomore Liam Hickey captured gold in the men’s 100 backstroke with a time of 51.88, while junior Zach Szabo finished fourth at 52.47.
Breaststroke events brought further hardware as senior Lindsay Burbage took silver in the women’s 100 breaststroke in 1:05.72. Sophomore Hudson Bawduniak matched that placement for the men, touching second in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 56.06. Additional scoring depth came from sophomores Eli Panachyda (58.04), Bode Groh (58.58), junior Nate Derby (58.92), and Dai (59.99), who finished fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh, respectively. In the 200 butterfly, Gibbons placed fourth for the women in 2:15.66, and senior Aydin Erkan earned bronze for the men in 1:57.84. Tedesco added a silver medal in the women’s 50 freestyle with a 24.28 mark, while sophomore Macek Vandermolen placed fourth in the men’s 50 freestyle at 21.55 and freshman Wyatt Sumner finished sixth at 21.75.
To close out the evening relays, the women’s 400 medley relay team of Grishaeva, Burbage, Tedesco, and freshman Kaitlyn Adams combined for a third-place time of 3:58.84. The men’s 400 medley relay squad of Hickey, Derby, Bawduniak, and Vandermolen took second in 3:25.19, while the team of Szabo, Panachyda, Erkan, and Montori finished third in 3:27.43.
Colgate Invitational Continues Through Weekend Competition
The Colgate Invitational at Colgate University’s Lineberry Natatorium continues with subsequent sessions of swimming and diving events. Team scoring totals and official final placements for the multi-day meet remain unavailable as competition proceeds through the weekend.