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Men's Swimming & Diving Ionagaels.com

Iona Men & Women Swim & Dive Drop a Pair at Fairfield

Competing for the first time since early December, the Iona men's and women's swimming and diving teams faced a red-hot Fairfield University squad on the Stags' Senior Day at the 25-meter Rec Plex Complex on Fairfield's campus. The Iona women fell 232–66, dropping to 7–2 on the season, while the men lost 216–84 to move to 4–4.

Before a large and enthusiastic crowd, Fairfield jumped out to an early advantage, winning the first 11 events of the meet. Junior Kieran Egan stopped the streak for Iona, touching first in the 100-meter backstroke with a time of 55.40. Fairfield responded by taking the next five events before classmate Nick Patino claimed the 50-meter freestyle in 23.10.

Three races later, the Gaels earned their lone women's victory of the day as sophomore Raegan O'Brien captured the 200-meter backstroke in 2:16.89.

Fairfield closed the meet with another dominant stretch, winning the final 11 races and finishing the day with victories in 29 of the 32 events contested.
"Fairfield was excellent today, and while the score was not competitive, the races and our efforts were hard-fought," said head coach Nick Cavataro, now in his 47th season.

"We race in short-course (25-meter) pools only once a year, and for some of our group this was their first-ever experience in an SCM pool," Cavataro added. Despite the results, the Gaels came away with a dozen new school records in the 25-meter course.

Anabel Huffstutler set two new marks, beginning with a time of 9:13.05 in the 800-meter freestyle, breaking the previous record of 9:28.21 set by Adrienne Bilello in 2021. She followed with a 4:27.86 in the 400-meter freestyle, shattering the 2019 record held by Isabella Nicholson by more than eight seconds.

O'Brien accounted for three school records, lowering the 100-meter backstroke mark to 1:03.93, eclipsing Meghan Patterson's 2019 record of 1:05.81. She also broke the 200-meter backstroke record with her winning time of 2:16.89, surpassing Victoria Novinskiy's previous mark of 2:20.56. O'Brien capped her record-setting day with a 2:24.31 in the 200-meter individual medley, improving upon Taylor Spillman's 2021 record by 1.7 seconds.

Brennyn Veit added two records of her own, posting a 1:13.49 in the 100-meter breaststroke to better Meghan Joseph's 2021 mark by 1.66 seconds. Her 2:38.34 in the 200-meter breaststroke broke the school's oldest meter record, previously set in 2004 by Jackie Fountaine, by more than two seconds.

On the men's side, Egan's 55.40 in the 100-meter backstroke improved his own 2024 school record by a full second. Sophomore Max Buchen reset both the 100- and 200-meter breaststroke records, clocking times of 1:03.34 and 2:23.96, respectively. He broke Emil Bajramovic's 2021 record in the 100 by over two seconds and topped Jackson Madonia's 2019 mark in the 200.

Patino's winning time of 23.10 in the 50-meter freestyle shaved nearly a second off the previous school record set by Zack Holbrook in 2017. Junior Harry Platt added another mark in the 200-meter freestyle, edging former Iona MVP Michael Faughnan's 2024 record with a time of 1:51.13.

The final record of the day came in the men's 400-meter freestyle relay, where the quartet of Egan, Platt, James Gonzalez, and Nate Wales lowered the school record by .77 seconds with a time of 3:29.22. The previous record was set in 2024 by a relay featuring Egan, Wales, Michael Faughnan, and Liam Pyatt.
 
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Players Mentioned

Michael Faughnan

Michael Faughnan

Middle Free
6' 6"
Graduate Student
Liam Pyatt

Liam Pyatt

Fly
6' 2"
Senior
Kieran Egan

Kieran Egan

Back / Free
6' 1"
Junior
Harry Platt

Harry Platt

Sprint Free
6' 5"
Junior
Nate Wales

Nate Wales

Sprint Free / Backstroke
6' 3"
Junior
Anabel Huffstutler

Anabel Huffstutler

Distance / IM
5' 8"
Junior
Raegan O

Raegan O'Brien

Back / IM
5' 9"
Sophomore
Brennyn Veit

Brennyn Veit

Breast / IM
5' 7"
Senior
James Gonzalez

James Gonzalez

Free
6' 2"
Freshman
Max Buchen

Max Buchen

Breast
5' 10"
Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Michael Faughnan

Michael Faughnan

6' 6"
Graduate Student
Middle Free
Liam Pyatt

Liam Pyatt

6' 2"
Senior
Fly
Kieran Egan

Kieran Egan

6' 1"
Junior
Back / Free
Harry Platt

Harry Platt

6' 5"
Junior
Sprint Free
Nate Wales

Nate Wales

6' 3"
Junior
Sprint Free / Backstroke
Anabel Huffstutler

Anabel Huffstutler

5' 8"
Junior
Distance / IM
Raegan O

Raegan O'Brien

5' 9"
Sophomore
Back / IM
Brennyn Veit

Brennyn Veit

5' 7"
Senior
Breast / IM
James Gonzalez

James Gonzalez

6' 2"
Freshman
Free
Max Buchen

Max Buchen

5' 10"
Sophomore
Breast