Jan. 19, 2003

ORONO, Maine - The Providence College men's and women's swimming and diving teams were defeated at the University of Maine on Saturday, January 18 in Orono, Maine. The men's team suffered a 132-90 defeat, while the women's team was defeated 130.50-110.50.

In men's action, four Friar swimmers captured first place finishes in their respective events. Junior Patrick Kavanagh (Newburgh, N.Y.) won the 1000 yard freestyle event with a time of 10:38.22. Senior Tom Darrow (Cranston, R.I.) earned a first-place finish in the 200 yard individual medley with a time of 2:05.57. The third Friar to earn a first-place finish was junior Bryan Flynn (Middletown, R.I.) as he took top honors in the 100 yard backstroke with a time of 58.36. Freshman Matt Merkel (Middletown, R.I.) rounded out the list of top finishers as he won the 500 yard freestyle with a time of 5:05.31. Providence's 200 yard freestyle relay team also took first place with a time of 1:31.83. The team was comprised of sophomore Matthew Raske (New Rochelle, N.Y.), Darrow, freshman Seth Brockman (Kenner, La.) and Kavanagh.

In women's action, the Friars were paced by freshman Lori Brezinsky (Bethlehem, Pa.) who recorded two first place finishes in the 50 yard freestyle (tied 1st - 27.04) and the 100 yard freestyle (58.30). Junior Bridget McKenna (Narraganset, R.I.) and senior Kate Fuller (Staten Island, N.Y.) also earned first place finishes in their respective events. McKenna won the 500 yard freestyle in a time of 5:26.51, while Fuller took top honors in the 100 yard breaststroke with a time of 1:11.27. In the diving portion of the women's meet, Jamie Modon-Cohen (Yorktown, N.Y.) paced the Friars with a first place finish in the three-meter diving (203.03 points) and a second place finish in the one-meter diving event (182.55 points). The Friars also won the 200 yard freestyle relay. Brezinsky, senior Christina Cotter (Ballston Lake, N.Y.), sophomore Alyssa Meleski (Southington, Conn.) and junior Lyndsay Taylor (Devonshire, Bermuda) earned victory with a time of 1:48.05.

The men's and women's teams will return to action on Saturday, February 1 in Burlington, Vermont as they take on the University of Vermont. Diving will begin at 11:00 a.m., followed by the swim portion of the meet at 1:00 p.m.