KINGSTON, R.I. – The Roger Williams University men's swimming team placed fourth at the University of Harold Anderson Invitational over the past weekend.
The Hawks compiled 442 points throughout the three-day event filled with NCAA Division I schools, finishing ahead of Division I University of Maine.
The Hawks shattered school records throughout the weekend including the first event of the weekend, when
Seth Sutton (Dumfries, Va.),
Ryan Duryea (Sag Harbor, N.Y.),
Bodie Ibrahim (Sunnyside, N.Y.), and
Blake Anderson (Seekonk, Mass.) rallied together for a 1:23.62 time in the 200-yard freestyle relay, to set a school record 0.57 seconds faster than the groups previous pace, also qualifying for ECAC Championships. The second Hawk combination of
Vince Tarolli (Syracuse, N.Y.),
Andrew Mungovan,
Cooper Sever, and
Ray Cerro (Southborough, Mass.) also coming in ahead of the qualifying standard.
In the 200-yard IM
Riley Williams (Arvada, Colo.) came in just under a second ahead of his previous school record, resetting his previous mark at 1:50.65. In the event
Luke Austin also qualified for the ECAC Championships.
The men's 50-yard freestyle saw four Hawk swimmers land inside the top 15, with Anderson, Sutton, Ibrahim and Duryea each qualifying for the ECACs and Tarolli and Cerro also qualifying for the Invitational finals later in the day.
Before breaking after the preliminary session in the morning, the Hawks also had a pair of teams qualify ECAC championships for the 400-yard medley relay. The Hawks watched as Sever, Williams,
Ross Macy (Essex, Vt.) and Ibrahim rattle off a time of 3:30.35, and Austin, Duryea, Cerro, and Tarolli beat the qualifying time with a race completed in 3:34.88.
In the afternoon session, The Hawk qualifiers for the 50-yard freestyle went at it, with Anderson finishing fifth with a 21.19 time for the finals. In the second heat Ibrahim and Sutton finished first and second, with their times landing them eighth and ninth overall in the event, adding points for Roger Williams.
On Saturday, the Hawks had two teams with qualifying times for the 200-yard medley relay, when the team of Sever, Cerro, Sutton, and Anderson finished their race in 1:33.62, finishing in fifth overall. The Hawks second team then closed their race in 1:37.33 with Austin,
Lars Hjerpe (Sudbury, Mass.), Macy, and Duryea combining for the time.
Continuing in the 400-yard IM, Williams again hit the qualifying time along with Austin, with Williams finishing second overall in the event with a time of 4:00.58, and Austin placing seventh with 4:14.63.
In the 200-yard freestyle, Ibrahim put together a fifth-place finish with a finals time of 1:42.38, adding 14 points for the Hawks men's swimming team. Anderson also added a point, finishing his race with a time of 1:46.48 with both Hawks earning an ECAC bid.
Cerro again had a qualifying time, this time on his own in the 200-yard breaststroke, finishing the finals in 57.56, pacing eighth. Hjerpe also beat the ECAC time with a 1:00.42 race.
In the 100-yard backstroke, Sever earned a spot at the ECAC Championships with a 54.63 time which was good enough for six points for Roger Williams.
Sunday, another relay team qualified for ECACs with Williams Sutton, Anderson, and Ibrahim again combining for a great time, this time in the 800-yard freestyle relay. The Hawks team combined for a 6:55.35 time, before Sever, Tarolli,
Skip Holmes (, and Mungovan also posting a qualifying time of 7:17.69 in the event.
Williams set yet another school record to start the day on Sunday, with a 16:12.12 time in the 1650-yard freestyle. Williams set the record defeating the previous school best from Hunter Wronski, who finished the race in 16:15.78.
The 200-yard backstroke saw Macy reach the ECAC championships, after placing eighth on the day with a time of 1:57.48, just 1.19 seconds behind the seventh-place finisher. In the 100-yard freestyle, Ibrahim placed third overall with a time that was .66 behind the top finisher from Binghamton, and Anderson also qualified placing sixth with a time of 46.58. Sutton also added a spot in the 100-yard freestyle with his time of 47.17.
In the 200-yard breaststroke, Hjerpe used a time of 2:13.76 to beat the qualifying time by over a second. Austin then earned five points for Roger Williams with a 1:56.82 time and earned a ECAC Championship slot.
Ibrahim, Anderson, Williams, and Sutton then closed out the event on Sunday with another qualifying time, this time combining for a 3:06.87 time in the 400-yard freestyle relay.
Roger Williams will be off until Saturday, Dec. 10 when they will participate in a double dual meet at Connecticut College in New London, Conn. Against Vassar and the Camels. They will then be off for the holiday break until Saturday, Jan. 14 when they will face Wesleyan and Springfield in a double dual meet at Middletown, Conn.
