AU Swimming and Diving Teams Combine for Four Individual Scorers on Day One of PL Championships

Feb. 21, 2008

Results

WASHINGTON - The American University men's and women's swimming and diving teams combined for four individual scorers and four relay scores during the first day of the Patriot League Championships on Thursday at Lejeune Hall on the campus of the U.S. Naval Academy. Freshman Dorothy Isaacs took second place in the 50 free with a new AU record time while seniors Meghan Thiel and Dan Nagelberg placed third in the 500 free and 200 IM, respectively.

Isaacs, in her first PL Championships appearance, placed second in the 50 free prelim to advance to the finals in an AU record time of 23.79. Isaacs, who previously appeared on AU's 50 free top-10 at seventh with a then personal-best time of 24.70, overtook the school's previous record of 23.85 set by Casey Legler in 1999. In the finals Isaacs swam to a second-place finish in a time of 23.96, behind only Thuy-Mi Dinh of Navy who set a new PL record in the event of 22.37 to win the championship.

Thiel advanced to her fourth-consecutive 500 free finals on Thursday morning by finishing second in the preliminary heat with a time of 4:51.87. In the finals Thiel completed the course in 4:52.04 for third place behind the events new champion Tara Chapman and second-place finisher Allison Ranzau, both of Navy. The Midshipmen swam times of 4:46.70 and 4:49.74, respectively. Ranzau's time broke the PL record previously held by Thiel who had won the event each of the previous three years.

Nagelberg advanced to his first 200 IM finals with a then career best time of 1:54.42 to place fourth in the preliminaries. He bested that time in the finals by more than a full second with a 1:53.11 to finish third. The event's winner, Jake Mentele of Army, posted a finals time of 1:51.87 while the runner-up, Billy Vey of Navy, posted a 1:52.23. Nagelberg's time moved him into 10th place on AU's all-time top-10 list.

Senior Joe Coronato earned a berth into the 50 free finals on Thursday with fourth-place finish and time of 21.20 in the prelims. Coronato's prelim time replaced his previous personal-best at eighth AU's all-time top-10 list. In the finals Coronato swam to an eighth-place finish in a time of 21.34. Navy's Alex Oldenkamp won the event with a time of 20.35.

Matt Pelletier was the only other Eagle to advance into the second session on Thursday, earning a place in the consolation finals with an 11th place prelim time of 21.43 in the 50 free. In the consolation finals Pelletier finished fourth, 12th overall, with a time of 21.45.

The men's and women's 200 freestyle relay teams also scored for AU, placing seventh and fourth, respectively. The women's team of Julia Anstadt, Isaacs, Mary-Margaret Lopez and Eleanor Clay finished in a time of 1:40.26. On the men's side, Coronato, Pelletier, Eric Sveum and Brian Galm combined for a time of 1:25.41.

In the 400 medley relay the women's team of Jessica Balance, Isaacs, Lopez and Thiel swam to a sixth-place finish in a time of 3:59.23. The men's 400 medley relay team of Pelletier, Michael DiDonato, Nagelberg and Coronato finished fourth in 3:27.41.

The women's team currently sits in seventh place overall with 86 points while Navy leads the team competition with 223.5 points. The men's team is in fifth place overall after Day One of the PL Championships with 92 points with Navy again leading the pack with 224 points.

The PL Swimming and Diving Championships will continue tomorrow from Lejeune Hall with preliminary heats beginning at 10:30 a.m. and finals beginning at 6 p.m. Click here for live results of each event throughout the day.