Women’s Swimming are Region Runner Up, Men Finish Third

ROCHESTER, NY -- The SUNY Erie Men's and Women's Swimming and Diving Teams each finished third at the 2018 NJCAA Region III/Northeast District Championships in Rochester. In addition, the women won five events and received the Region III runner-up plaque. Fashion Institute of Technology, which won the women's competition, is not a Region III member.

Two school records were broken during the meet. The Erie women's 200 Yard Freestyle Relay team of Tabby Smith, Haley Roblee, Allie DeBiase and Abbie Ettinger smashed a 19-year old school record by almost three seconds in a first place time of 1:46.96. Roblee also set a new school mark in winning the three-meter diving competition with 359.2 points.

DeBiase proved to be the top breast stroke swimmer in the region, winning the 100-Yard Breaststroke in 1:13.08 and the 200-Yard Breaststroke in 2:40.66. Smith was the regional champ in the 200-Yard Freestyle in 2:06.36.

Although they did not win an event the men did get four second place finishes. Jonathan Pilat touched second in the 50-Yard Freestyle in 23.31 and Brad Zifra was second in the 200-Yard Breaststroke in 2:27.33. Casey Rosinski took second in both diving events, failing to get the top spot in 3-meter by just 0.45 points.

In just the program's second year back after a six-year hiatus, both the men's and women's teams improved their team scores by more than 120 points from what they had in the same competition a year ago.

Erie will return to action March 7-10 at the NJCAA Championships in Fort Pierce, FL.