RIVERDALE, N.Y.- The Manhattan men's and women's swimming teams returned to the pool this past weekend (Dec. 3-5), competing in the 2010 ECAC Winter Championships held at the Nassau County Aquatic Center in East Meadow, N.Y.
Facing some of the best opposition in the New York area, the men's team recorded 272 points to finish in ninth place out of 15 participants. On the other side, the Lady Jaspers posted 348 points to end in eighth place out of 13 competing schools.
Placing first on the men's side was the Stevens Institute of Technology, finishing with a total of 2,003.50 points. For the women, Stony Brook University led all teams in scoring with 1,592.50.
"It was an extremely good meet for the team and a chance to assess our strengths and weaknesses against a variety of teams we normally do not compete against," Coach Walter Olsewski said.
"Both sides put out strong performances and we broke several school records in the process. The weekened event will help us in the MAAC, when we swim three-consecutive mornings and evenings in Buffalo."
Hitting the water for the first time after the Thanksgiving break, the men's squad proved their early start was just a preview of bigger things to come. Leading the way in sprint and distance races for the Kelly Green and White were freshmen PJ Sweeney and Dennis Daly.
Sweeney made an impact throughout the three-day event, breaking the school record in the 1650-yard freestyle event on Friday night (17:18.83) and the 200-yard butterfly on Saturday afternoon (2:06.94). On Sunday, the Staten Island, N.Y. native, narrowly missed Manhattan's top mark in the 500-yard freestyle event, recording a time of 4:59.64.
Continuing with the youth movement, Daly swam a 1:01.17 in the 100-yard breaststroke Saturday to improve on the all-time mark he set earlier in the season. His times in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:15.53) and 200-yard IM (2:05.16) were also within a second of former Jasper Anthony Sartorio's all-time records.
Finishing up a stellar weekend for individual competition, newcomer TJ McCarthy eclipsed the previous mark set in the 100-yard freestyle event, recording a time of 47.96.
In relay events, the combination of McCarthy, Daly, fellow classmate Chris Fusco and sophomore Robert Varieur had a solid showing in the 400-yard medley relay, finishing sixth with a time of 3:43.92.
For the Lady Jaspers, junior Bridget Latino continued to shine in the water, posting a record time during Friday's 1650-yard freestyle event (19:06.34). The two-time team MVP also had an impressive showing in the 400-yard IM (5:00.32).
Recording Manhattan's top times in the 50-yard freestyle (26.79) and 100-yard butterfly (1:05.68), freshman Melanie Tam continued to build momentum on a big time stage.
Ending with relay events, the foursome of Tam, Latino, sophomore Nadine Maher and freshman Vanessa L'Heureux placed fifth in the 400-yard freestyle relay with a time of 3:53.15.
Manhattan will travel to Florida for training over winter break before a Jan. 26, 2011 dual meet with the College of Mount St. Vincent's at the Riverdale Country Day School.
To follow Manhattan Athletics on Twitter, go to twitter.com/GoJaspers or visit Manhattan's Facebook fan page.
