Swimming to Host Regis College and Assumption College

The Matchup: Regis College Pride (5-1 men, 2-5 women) and Assumption College Hounds (5-1 women) at Elms College Blazers (3-2-1 men, 6-4 women)
Date: Saturday, January 28
Time: 11:00 a.m.
Site: Partyka Natatorium (Chicopee, Mass.)
Click here for directions to Elms College

Men's Preview:
Scouting the Blazers: Elms College enters Saturday’s meet looking to close its home slate on a winning note. Including Saturday’s dual meet with Regis College, the Blazers’ men’s team has had three of its four dual meets during the month of January take place in the friendly confines of Partyka Natatorium where they are 2-1.

Elms has set three records during its three home competitions this season including two by sophomore Keegan Goan (Westbrook, Maine) in the 50-meter backstroke and the 50-meter butterfly with respective times of 30.79 and 27.29. Freshman Jeffrey Ludington (Killingworth, Conn.) also set a new school mark in the 200-meter backstroke with a time of 2:28.84.

Following Saturday’s event, Elms is in action on Feb. 4 at the University of New England for a final tune-up before the season-ending New England Intercollegiate Swimming  and Diving Association (NEISDA) Championship.

Scouting the Pride: The Pride come to Chicopee, Mass. fresh off a 160-97 victory over Colby-Sawyer College on Jan. 21 in their most recent outing.

Regis was led by the strong swimming of Djordje Mandic (Portland, Maine) who took three first place finishes in the 50-yard backstroke, the 50-yard butterfly, and the 100-yard backstroke. Zach Earl (Mexico, N.Y.) tied Mandic for top performances by tallying three victories in the 1000-yard freestyle, the 500-yard freestyle, and the 50-yard freestyle.

Nick Yerzk (West Hills, Calif.) and Stephen McGovern (Dorchester, Mass.) were the other two top finalists for the Pride as they notched a pair of first place finishes apiece.

Women's Preview:
Scouting the Blazers: The Elms College women’s squad is a perfect 4-0 at home and have totaled six school records, four of which were set by sophomore Devon DeGrazia (Westport, Mass.). DeGrazia clocked new school marks in the 200-meter backstroke (2:36.68) and the 800-meter freestyle (10:03.02) and then set and reset the school record in the 400-meter freestyle with times of 4:55.79 and 4:54.26 respectively.

Junior Tessa Dudunake (Northampton, Mass.) set and reset the school record in the 50-meter freestyle with times of 29.40 and 29.31.  

Scouting the Pride: Regis’ women’s team enters its regular season finale looking to snap a three-meet losing skid. The Pride most recently lost a 159-81 decision to Colby-Sawyer College.

During the meet with the Chargers, Kelly Finn (Melrose, Mass.), Haley Bowen (Litchfield, N.H.), and Yassyra Diaz (Dorchester, Mass.) took top finished for the Pride. Finn finished with a top time in the 50-yard butterfly, while Diaz touched the wall first in the 500-yard freestyle. Bowen capped a strong performance by taking a first in the 200-yard individual medley and a second place finish in the 200-yard breaststroke.

Scouting the Hounds: Assumption College is an NCAA Division II member of the Northeast 10 (NE-10) conference and are 5-1 on the season. The Hounds most recently competed in the four-team Worcester City Championships that took place on Jan. 20-21.

Assumption will next compete in the three-day NE-10 Championships on Feb. 2-4 and will conclude its season at the NEISDA Championships with the diving portion to take place on Feb. 11-12 and the swimming portion to be held on Jan. 17-19.

Pink-Out Day: The Elms College athletics department will host its third “pink-out” event of the 2011-12 year on Saturday, January 28. The Blazers’ swim teams host Regis College and Assumption College at 11:00 a.m. at Partyka Natatorium, while the men’s and women’s basketball teams will host Lesley with games at 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. respectively. Continue to join us in promoting breast cancer awareness. During each “pink-out” event, fans are asked to help all teams involved in promoting the cause by wearing pink and donating a minimum of $1. Tee shirts will be available for $10. Together we can make a difference!