THROGGS NECK, N.Y. – The Maritime men's & women's swimming & diving teams competed against the William Paterson Pioneers on Tuesday evening inside the Riesenberg Aquatic Center. The women's team fell to the Pioneers by a 130-90 score, while the men's team fell by just four points by a 120-116 margin.
 
The four-point difference in the men's contest was the closest score differential since November 30 of 2009, when Maritime knocked off Queens by a 111-108 score. The loss also snaps Maritime two-meet winning streak against the Pioneers in men's swimming & diving.
 
Men's Recap
Maritime and William Paterson renewed their rivalry, and as has been the case in previous seasons the meet has come down to the final race. With Maritime leading by a slim one-point lead, the Pioneers came out on top with a 0.24 second win in the 200 yard freestyle relay to take the 11 points needed for the victory.
 
Sophomore Stephen Kelleher (Poughquag, N.Y./Our Lady of Lourdes) had a big night individually for the Privateers with wins in both the 1,000 and 500 freestyle, junior Kevin Wu (Flushing, N.Y./Francis Lewis) notched a key nine points for Maritime in the 50 freestyle, while sophomore John Accetta (Seaford, N.Y./Kellenberg) scored a key win late in the meet to give Maritime its one-point lead heading into the freestyle relay.
 
Maritime's relay teams in the medley relay opened the night with an early top-two finish as freshman Caelan Troy (Severna Park, Md./Severna Park), Accetta, junior Nathanael Marino (Orwigsburg, Pa./Blue Mountain), and Wu scored a 1:45.79. The B relay of freshman Benjamin Loutzenhiser (Erie, Pa./General McLane), sophomores Ian Folan (Bethel, Conn./Notre Dame) and Adam Durrua (Point Pleasant, N.J./Point Pleasant Beach), along with senior Andrew Katz (Greenlawn, N.Y./Glenn-Elwood) scored a 1:48.63 for second place,
 
The Privateers continued their strong start with Kelleher securing the win in the 1,000 freestyle with a time of 11:05.76. Junior Tristan DeYoung (Scarborough, Maine/Scarborough) and classmate Jesse Pierce (Broadway, Va./Broadway) took fourth and fifth respectively in the 1,000 freestyle. Junior Spencer Blass (Gaithersburg, Md./Quince Orchard) took second in the 200 freestyle, while junior Merrick Kovatch (Frankford, Del./Indian River) and rookie Derrick Kennedy (Wilmington, Del./Salesianum) also notched points for the Privateers.
 
Wu secured the win in the 50 freestyle with a blazing time of 23:10, but the next two finishers were Pioneers ahead of senior Doug Russell (Oakdale, N.Y./Connetquot), and freshman Tyler Verheyleweghen (Tarpon Springs, Fla./Tarpon Springs), who took fourth and fifth. Marino took second in the 200 individual medley and was just over three seconds off the lead, while sophomore Matthew Hart and Folan followed in third and fourth.
 
Maritime was able to secure points in one-meter diving as senior Kurt Schieferstein (Lattingtown, N.Y./Chaminade) scored a 142.10 on six dives, while sophomore newcomer Matthew Daghir (Havre de Grace, Md./Aberdeen) notched a 112.00 for two points in fourth position.
 
Loutzenhiser secured four points for Maritime in the 100 butterfly, and was just over one second off the mark with a 56.74. Durrua took third, while Verheyleweghen finished fifth. Maritime finished in third fourth and fifth in the 100 freestyle as Russell led the Privateers with a 52.73, Kovatch took fourth and Troy took fifth less than two seconds behind Russell. Katz took second in the 100 backstroke, while junior Christopher Chilelli (Bordentown, N.J./Bordentown Regional) and Blass finished in fourth and fifth respectively.
 
Kelleher picked up his second win of the night in the 500 freestyle, edging out his closes competition by 10 seconds with a 5:17.66. Kennedy took third, while DeYoung added a fifth place finish. Maritime did not have any competition in the three-meter diving allowing the Pioneers to take 13 point uncontested.
 
Accetta followed with a win in the 100 breaststroke after the top Pioneer swimmer was disqualified on an illegal turn. Folan and Hart took second and third as Maritime took 16 points in the event to give Maritime a slim one-point lead heading into the freestyle relay.
 
With both teams knowing the winner of the freestyle relay was the deciding factor in the meet, the Privateer sent Wu, Russell, Kelleher and Troy into the pool as the top relay. The quartet was edged out for the top spot by a difference of 0.24 as William Paterson won by a time of 1:32.41 to 1:32.64. Maritime's second and third relays finished third and fourth respectively, but it was not enough as the Pioneers escaped with the victory.
 
Women's Recap
While the women's team did not come down to the final event, the Privateers did have one of their closest finishes against a strong William Paterson team with a 130-90 loss to the Pioneers.
 
Freshman Margaret Stinson (Washington, D.C./School without Walls) recorded a win in the 200 individual medley, while Emily Zink (Brockport, N.Y./Brockport) scored a close win in the 100 yard breaststroke for the two wins by the Privateers individually.
 
The Privateers also opened the night with a win in the medley relay by 0.48 seconds as Stinson, Zink, junior Katia Aaron (Clarence, N.Y./Clarence), and freshman Samantha Brow (Brick, N.J./Brick Memorial) took the win at 2:08.40.
 
Freshmen Parrish Stinson (Washington, D.C./School without Walls) took third in the 1,000 freestyle, while classmate Anna Curran (Shelton, Conn./Shelton) took fourth to secure points for the Privateers. Aaron took second in the 200 freestyle with a 2:13.91 and was two seconds off the pace, while sophomore Bethany Champlin (Bronx, N.Y./Saint Vincent) added one point for Maritime in fifth place with a 2:40.89.
 
Brow took second in the 50 freestyle at 27.99, with sophomore Gabrielle Thompson (Alexandria, Va./T.C. Williams) finishing fourth with a 28.93 and junior Megan Alicea (Copake, N.Y./Taconic Hills) taking fifth with a 31.47. M. Stinson secured her win in the individual medley for nine points as she paced the field with a 2:42.33, while junior Erica Davis (Oakdale, N.Y./Connetquot) added a third place finish at 3:02.22.
 
In one meter diving action sophomore Macy Blakeley (Falls Church, Va./George C. Marshall) took second with a score of 151.15 in her six dives on the night.
 
Zink took third in the 100 butterfly, while Brow took fourth in the event. Maritime also had Thompson, Champlin and sophomore Caroline Gibbons (Massapequa Park, N.Y./Massapequa) combine for six points in the 100 freestyle. M. Stinson took second in the 100 backstroke, while P. Stinson was right behind in third place. Senior Jessica Yee (Freehold, N.J./Freehold) added one point with a fifth place finish in the 100 backstroke.
 
Aaron and Davis combined for seven points with a second and third place finish in the 500 freestyle. Aaron tallied a 5:59.75, while Davis took third with a 7:13.78 in the event. William Paterson also went uncontested in the three meter women's dive to give the Pioneers nine unanswered points.
 
Zink scored her lone win of the night with a 1:19.71 in the breaststroke, while sophomore Maura Neely (Towson, Md./Maryvale Prep) took third and Gibbons took fourth. Champlin, Thompson, Curran and P. Stinson took second in the freestyle relay, for four points, while Yee, Alicea, Davis and Neely added two points to close out the night.
 
The men's team (0-1), and the women's team (1-1) get back to action on Thursday evening, when the teams travel to nearby Lehman College for a 6 p.m. start against the Lightning from the APEX.