MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – In the past, the Connecticut Cup Championships have always brought out the best in the Eastern Connecticut State University swim teams. Never so more than this past weekend, when the men's and women's teams combined to post 52 top five times in the Little East Conference this season.
In a meet which represents the unofficial state championship among Division III institutions and the halfway point of the season, both Eastern teams placed a solid fifth in eight-team fields. The women's point total of 395 was nearly 200 points more than sixth-place University of Saint Joseph, while the men's total was only 151 points behind fifth-place Wesleyan University and more than 400 more than sixth-place Saint Joseph.
Both teams are idle from official competition for nearly six weeks before visiting Keene State College of the Little East Jan. 13. In dual meets, the Eastern men defeated the Owls last year for the first time after two previous losses in the series while the women (like most other LEC teams) have never beaten perennial LEC champion Keene in 20 dual meetings.
MEN'S HIGHLIGHTS
The Warriors recorded 28 top-five finishes in the LEC this year, among them seven fastest times and eight second-fastest times.
Eleven swimmers total double-digits in points: junior
Joseph Sylvester (43), first-year swimmers
Nico Iannucci (40) and
Stephen Canavan (34), junior
Connor Rego (33), senior
Nathan Melia (20), junior
Ben D'Addario (20), seniors
Connor Scully (17),
Drew Cavar (15), and
Elliot Anderson (13) and sophomores
Sam Hurlburt (13) and
Deagan Granville (11).
Already the program record-holder in the 50 butterfly and 100 IM, Iannucci added the 50 and 100 breaststroke records to his portfolio while junior Rego broke his own program record in the 200 IM.
Iannucci was third among 33 competitors in the 100 breaststroke (58.79) and was timed in 27:51 in his record-setting 50 breaststroke. His times in the 50 and 10 breaststroke and 200 breaststroke (2:14.19) are the fastest in the LEC this year.
Rego, who holds two butterfly and two IM program records, set his record in the 200 IM with a time of 2:02.05, good for 14
th place. He was also eighth in the 200 butterfly (2:02.28), with both times topping the LEC chart this year. He time of 54.42 in the 100 butterfly was the second-best in the LEC this year.
Sylvester, who holds five program records in the distance freestyle and backstroke, posted the fastest 500 freestyle (5:09.09) in the LEC this year, the second-fastest 1650 (18:07.42) and second-fastest 200 backstroke (2:05.07), third-fastest 200 freestyle (1:52.86) and fourth-fastest 50 backstroke (26.38).
D'Addario finished among the top 40 percent of the competitors in the 200 freestyle (19
th of 47) and 50 freestyle (20
th of 50) and among the top 45 percent in the 100 freestyle (24
th of 54). He was the only Eastern to perform this feat in as many as three events.
All four of the team's 'A' relays swam the second-fastest times in the LEC this year: 200 freestyle (1:31.79), 400 freestyle (3:24.01), 200 medley (1:41.64) and 400 medley (3:43.28).
Seven swimmers competed in as many as four individual events: Cavar, Sylvester, Canavan, junior
Jared Tofil, sophomores
Uzair Bhura and
Deagan Granville and first-year swimmer
Mark Crowe.
TEAM SCORES
1 U.S. Coast Guard Academy 1031; 2. Connecticut College 951; Trinity College 648; 4. Wesleyan U. 620;
5. EASTERN CONN. 469; 6. U. of Saint Joseph 57; 7. Albertus Magnus College 22; 8. Amherst College 0.
EASTERN'S FINISHERS
Top 2 relays from each institution score points
Relay Overall Time Pts. Pts. Finish
200 Free A 10
th (17) 1:31.79 24 9th
B 12
th (17) 1:33.84 20 10th
C 15
th (17) 1:37.21 --
D 16
th (17) 1:43.78 --
400 Medley A 11
th (17) 3:43.28 24 9
th
B 14
th (17) 3:51.43 20 10
th
C 16
th (17) 3:58.94 --
200 Medley A 11
th (19) 1:41.64 24 9
th
B 14
th (19) 1:45.84 20 10
th
C 18
th (19) 1:49.91 --
D 19
th (19) 1:58.47 --
400 Free A 10
th (19) 3:24.01 26 8
th
B 11
th (19) 3:24.60 24 9
th
C 16
th (19) 3:35.82 --
D 18
th (19) 3:58.35 --
Top 18 individuals score points
Only top 3 individuals from each institution are eligible to score points
Name Event Overall Time Pts. Pts. Finish
Ainscough 50 Free 26
th (50) 23.46 --
Ainscough 100 Breast 26
th (33) 1:06.11 --
Ainscough 100 Free 28
th (54) 52.10 5 14th
Anderson 200 Fly 13
th (13) 2:17.64 8 11th
Anderson 100 Fly 25
th (26) 59.41 5 14th
Anderson 200 IM 28
th (28) 2:23.31 --
Bhura 100 Back 21
st (21) 1:17.60 --
Bhura 50 Free 38
th (50) 25.47 --
Bhura 200 Free 42
nd (50) 2:13.43 --
Bhura 100 Free 48
th (54) 58.21 --
Bragg-Phillips 100 Fly 26
th (26) 1:03.35 4 15th
Bragg-Phillips 50 Free 31
st (50) 24.14 --
Bragg-Phillips 100 Free 49
th (54) 54.28 --
Canavan 400 IM 12
th (13) 4:42.65 13 8th
Canavan 100 Back 16
th (21) 1:01.08 8 11th
Canavan 200 Back 16
th (18) 2:13.43 7 12th
Canavan 200 IM 24
th (28) 2:11.56 6 13th
Cavar 1650 Free 13
th (15) 19:48.69 8 11th
Cavar 500 Free 26
th (31) 5:38.18 7 12th
Cavar 200 Free 36
th (47) 2:03.43 --
Cavar 100 Free 43
rd (54) 55.24 --
Colandrea 50 Free 29
th (50) 23.95 --
Colandrea 100 Free 29
th (54) 52.14 4 15th
Colandrea 200 Free 35
th (47) 2:01.60 --
Crowe 100 Back 18
th (21) 1:05.91 6 13th
Crowe 500 Free 29
th (31) 6:03.75 --
Crowe 200 Free 41
st (47) 2:13.02 --
Crowe 100 Free 47
th (54) 58.16 --
D'Addario 200 Free 19
th (47) 1:51.20 8 11th
D'Addario 50 Free 20
th (50) 22.86 6 13th
D'Addario 100 Free 24
th (54) 50.81 6 13th
Granville 1650 Free 15
th (15) 21:25.86 6 13th
Granville 200 Breast 21
st (21) 2:49.28 --
Granville 500 Free 28
th (31) 6:03.40 5 14th
Granville 100 Breast 32
nd (33) 1:11.55 --
Hurlburt 200 Breast 17
th (21) 2:21.54 7 12th
Hurlburt 200 IM 27
th (28) 2:14.64 --
Hurlburt 100 Breast 21
st (33) 1:02.90 6 13th
Iannucci 100 Breast 3
rd (33) 58.79 18 3rd
Iannucci 200 Breast 9
th (21) 2:14.19 15 6th
Iannucci 200 IM 19
th (28) 2:05.26 7 12th
Jezek 50 Free 24
th (50) 23.26 5 14
th
Jezek 100 Free 30
th (54) 52.31 --
Jezek 200 Free 32
nd (47) 1:59.59 4 15th
Melia 200 Back 14
th (18) 2:10.17 10 10th
Melia 100 Back 15
th (21) 58.94 10 10th
Melia 50 Free 27
th (50) 23.66 --
Rego 200 Fly 8
th (13) 2:02.28 14 7th
Rego 200 IM 14
th (28) 2:02.05 12 9th
Rego 100 Fly 18
th (26) 54.42 7 12th
Scully 200 Breast 16
th (21) 2:20.42 8 11th
Scully 100 Breast 23
rd (33) 1:03.57 5 14th
Scully 50 Free 25
th (50) 23.37 4 15th
Sylvester 1650 Free 11
th (15) 18:07.42 12 9th
Sylvester 200 Back 12
th (18) 2:05.07 13 8th
Sylvester 500 Free 18
th (31) 5:09.09 12 9
th
Sylvester 200 Free 21
st (47) 1:52.86 6 13th
Tofil 200 Back 18
th (18) 2:35.63 --
Tofil 100 Back 20
th (21) 1:07.79 --
Tofil 50 Free 37
th (50) 25.26 --
Tofil 200 Free 39
th (47) 2:07.60 --
