Vishwanath Sets Meet Record On Day One of Landmark Championships

GERMANTOWN, Md. – Mal Vishwanath (Bangalore, India) broke the meet record in the women's 500 yard freestyle to highlight the Drew University swimming & diving team's first day of competition at the Landmark Conference Championships from the Germantown Swim Center on Friday. That time, which was also the "B" cut for the NCAA Championships, was one of two records on the day for the Rangers. The quartet of Matheus Macena (Sao Paulo, Brazil), Michael Ma (Redwood City, Calif.), Ryan Underwood (Etters, Pa.) and Jack Mahoney (Erie, Pa.) set a new school mark in the men's 400 yard medley relay.

A total of 16 Rangers qualify for evening finals after the morning preliminaries, and Vishwanath's victory in the 500 freestyle was one of six top-three finishes for Drew. Stephanie Cushman (Brick, N.J.) was just out-touched in the women's 200 yard individual medley, settling for second place with a time of 2:12.77. Jenny Stein (Calabasas, Calif.), meanwhile, took second place in 3-meter diving (394.30) shortly after placing third in the 50 yard freestyle (24.41). She also joined Vishwanath, Jamie Riffel (New Providence, N.J.) and Eve Morel (Bourgogne, France) on the 200 yard freestyle relay team that finished fourth in 1:39.22.

The Rangers won both the "A" and "B" finals of the women's 500 freestyle, with Riffel earning the victory in the "B" final (5:20.17) to capture ninth place overall. Katie Jefferson (Kamuela, Hawaii) was 10^th in the 200 individual medley (2:15.69), while Morel qualified for the "B" final in the 50 freestyle, ending up 16^th overall with a 25.77-second clocking.

Drew's school-record time of 3:30.95 in the men's 400 medley relay was good for fourth place in the event. The same foursome opened the finals session by taking third in the 200 freestyle relay (1:26.49) before each taking part in an individual final. Ma ended up second in the 200 individual medley (1:54.10), while Mahoney was third in the 50 freestyle (21.44). Underwood was seventh in that race with a 21.76-second clocking, and Macena placed 13^th overall in the event after posting a time of 22.30 seconds in the "B" final.

Angelo Angione (Hoboken, N.J.) had a fourth-place showing in 1-meter diving, compiling 280.05 points. Garrett Pilkington (West Milford, N.J.), meanwhile, led four Ranger scorers in the 500 freestyle. He took fourth overall in 4:48.87, and Alexandre Sannibale (South Pasadena, Calif.) was sixth in 4:51.27. Mack Fox (Randolph, N.J.) secured ninth place by winning the "B" final in 4:51.35, while Alex Longacre (Perkiomenville, Pa.) finished 16^th with a 5:01.87 clocking.

On Saturday, the Championships continue with morning heats at 10 a.m., followed by the finals session at 5:30 p.m. The men's 3-meter and women's 1-meter diving preliminary competitions will take place between the swimming sessions at 1 p.m.

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