Things did begin strong for the Manhattan men (1-1) as freshman Lance Neuendorf along with Dennis Daly, Scott Issacs, and Robert Varieur won the opening event, the 200 medley relay. The team of Cullen Balcanoff, Mike Mackay, Michael Dalia, and Mike Scire placed second giving the Jaspers a 15-2 lead out of the gate.
However, Manhattan would win just four of the next 12 events while Fairfield was able to take control of the meet. Neuendorf would be responsible for two of those wins, placing first in both the 200 Individual Medley and the 100 backstroke. Both individual events set school records for Neuendorf as his time of 1:57.83 seconds in the IM broke the old record held by Mackay and his time in the back of 53.11 seconds broke the mark he set last week. Varieur was also able to pick up another personal victory in the 100 free while Mackay placed first in the 100 breaststroke.
On the women's side, the Stags controlled much more winning all but four events. Paige Raccioppi provided wins for the Jaspers in both the 200 IM and the 100 butterfly. Meanwhile, senior transfer Brianne Grant continues to be a positive winning her second straight 100 breaststroke as Manhattan swept the points in that event with Cassandra Bush and Alyssa Maccarrone finishing second and third respectively. In the final event of the meet, the freestyle relay team of Molly Russell, Melanie Tam, Michaela Schatz, and Kim Geissler placed first for the fourth event win of the day.
Both the men's and women's swimmers return to action next Saturday, Oct. 27 as they travel to local rival Pace.