Two GNAC Titles Highlight First Night of Championships for Pride

WELLESLEY, Mass. – The Regis College swimming and diving teams won two league titles in six swim events contested Friday night as the 2020 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Swimming and Diving Championships commenced at the Boston Sports Institute and the Holmes Sports Center at Simmons University.

Brendan Pike (Weymouth, Mass.) finished first in the men's 1650 freestyle with a time of 17:02.34, over a full minute ahead of teammate Grant Kollien (Acton, Mass.). Kollien touched the wall in second place with a mark of 18:08.40, over five seconds in front of the third place finisher.

The Pride won their second conference title of the night in the women's 200 medley relay, starting with Sarah Leonard (Brockton, Mass.) establishing the lead for Regis with a 50 backstroke split of 27.86 seconds. Julia Burke (North Andover, Mass.), Alexa Lancisi (Milford, Mass.), and Jessica Zernitsky (Newton, Mass.) held onto the advantage to finish in a total time of 1:52.97, 0.73 seconds ahead of the second place relay team from Simmons.

Leonard, Kyleigh Boatwright (Roseville, Calif.), Lancisi, and Zernitsky combined to finish second in the women's 200 freestyle relay to begin the meet, posting a time of 1:43.43. Thalia Bowie (Lexington, Mass.) continued the strong opening night for the Pride, finishing fifth in the women's 1650 freestyle with a time of 19:54.47.

The Regis men finished in third place in both relay events contested Friday night, starting with the 200 freestyle relay quartet of GianCarlos Banrey (Roslindale, Mass.), Robert Wood (Cathedral City, Calif.), Kollien, and Pike combining to post a time of 1:33.01. Wood, Pike, Banrey, and Kollien wrapped up the evening with a third place time of 1:45.01 in the 200 medley relay.

The Pride men ended the night in second place in the team standings with 52 points, behind first night leader Norwich with 68 points thanks to victories in both relays as well as the three-meter diving event held at Simmons. The Regis women currently stand in fifth place with 108 points, with Simmons jumping out to a 67-point lead with 193 points.

The second day of the 2020 GNAC Swimming and Diving Championships are scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 1, with the preliminaries of seven individual swimming events. The one-meter diving event will be held after swimming preliminaries, with swimming finals set to start at 6 p.m. Saturday night.