ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- The Navy men's swimming and diving team placed first and the Navy women's team placed second at the ECAC Championship contested this weekend at Lejeune Hall in Annapolis.

The Navy men accrued 767.5 points to outdistance second-place Bucknell's total of 390.5.  James Madison totaled 695 points in the women's tabulation to edge its way past the 642.5 points recorded by the Mids.

The Navy men's team has placed first 12 times and second once in the 13 ECAC Championships it has competed in since the 2008-09 season.  The women's team now has posted five wins and three second-place finishes at the last eight ECAC Championships.

Navy men's head coach Bill Roberts was named the men's swimming coach of the meet and Hunter Seibert (Sr., Lake Smyrna, Ga.) was named the men's diver of the meet.

"The team did a terrific job of competing at a conference meet for the second week in a row," said Roberts.  "We are all very proud of the way we performed this weekend.  It also marks the end of competition for our great Class of 2022.  We commend and thank them for their four years of commitment to the program."

"We are very proud of our entire team to earn second-place at this meet," said Navy women's swimming head coach John Morrison.  "It was awesome to see the entire group step up and have great performances.  

"Championship meets are about having consistency, and I was real proud of the fight in all of our relays.  They really raced well, especially our 400 free team that had one sophomore and three freshmen on it."

"Overall I was happy with the performance of our divers this weekend," said Navy diving coach Rich MacDonald.  "This was the first major competition for the women we entered and I thought they had a great showing.  It was great to see Hunter end his career with a major award after all of his hard work the last four years."

Friday's opening day of the meet ended with the men's team in first place and the women's team in second.  The men had totaled 242 points to lead second-place Columbia by 107 points and the women's team had posted 171 points to trail James Madison by 52 points.

The men had a great start to the championship as they won the opening 200 freestyle relay.  Nate Gaver (Fr., Reynoldsburg, Ohio), Austin Lockhart (Fr., Fort Mills, S.C.), Eli Williams (Jr., Murrieta, Calif.) and Brendan Sullivan (Sr., Berwick, Maine) recorded a time of 1:19.05 to win the race by 2.83 seconds over Marist and break the meet record of 1:20.00.

A pair of Mids advanced to the championship final in the first individual event, the 500 freestyle.  Josh Anderson (So., Burke, Va.) posted a third-place time of 4:28.86 and James Lyon (Fr., Kailua, Hawaii) finished in fifth place with an effort of 4:30.49.

Nate Sukeena (Fr., Catonsville, Md.) gave Navy its second win of the day as he posted a time of 1:49.36 to win the 200 individual medley by one-half of a second.

Mids took up half of the eight-swimmer final for the 50 freestyle.  Williams would lead all competitors with his winning time of 20.04.  Additionally, Gaver finished in fourth place (20.31), Lockhart placed fifth (20.33) and Sullivan recorded a seventh-place showing (20.44).

In diving, Seibert and Zack Peng (Fr., Oakton, Va.) went 1-2 for the Mids on the one-meter board.  Seibert won the event with a score of 281.20 points and Peng totaled 272.20 points to place second.

The session closed with Navy winning the 400 medley relay final.  The team of Sukeena, Dan Cashell (Sr., Cincinnati, Ohio), Sullivan and Lockhart touched the wall in a time of 3:16.94 to win the event by nearly one full second.

The women's team began Friday by placing third in the 200 freestyle relay.  The foursome of Maya Novack (So., Cedarburg, Wis.), Katie Corbi (Jr., Waxhaw, N.C.), Danielle Ghine (Fr., Columbia, Md.) and Tiffany Shields (Fr., Escondido, Calif.) finished the race with a time of 1:33.82.

Abbie Sullivan (So., Haverhill, Mass.) was be the top-finishing Mid in the 500 freestyle as she placed fourth in a time of 4:55.74.

"Abbie had an amazing meet with three appearances in the championship final," said Morrison.  

Two Mids reached the consolation final of the 200 individual medley.  Jennifer Luong (Fr., South Riding, Va.) placed 12th (2:05.05) and Theresa Milio (So., Scarsdale, N.Y.) finished in 16th place (2:07.54) in the race.

Novack advanced to the championship final in the 50 freestyle.  She posted a time of 23.57 to finish in fifth place.

The women's three-meter diving competition was contested Friday.  Darby Ratcliffe (So., Heath, Texas) scored 229.75 points to place second in the field and lead the Mids.  Also, Julia Hricay (Fr., White Plains, N.Y.) totaled 228.40 points to finish in third place and Alexandra Kwasniewski (Fr., Lawrenceville, N.J.) scored 215.90 points to place fifth. 

The 400 medley relay final saw the Mids post a time of 3:46.52 to place third.  The team was comprised of Ghine, Sydney Bare (Fr., Moreland Hills, Ohio), Catherine Weaverling (Fr., Glen Millls, Pa.) and Novack.

By the end of Saturday, the Navy women's team had erased nearly its entire deficit to James Madison. The Duke still stood in first place with 451 points, but the Mids were right on their heels with a score of 439.5 points.

The Navy men's team also had a strong Saturday to increase its day one advantage. The Mids totaled 549.5 points to more than double second-place Columbia's total of 249 points.

The women's team began the middle day of the championship by placing second in the 200 medley relay. The team of Sydney Paglia (So., West Grove, Pa.), Bare, Weaverling and Corbi posted a time of 1:43.69 to finish just under two seconds in back of Richmond's clocking of 1:41.82.

Navy placed two into the championship final of the 400 individual medley.  Sullivan placed second with her time of 4:24.21 and Ana Lesho (Jr., Ellicott City, Md.) finished in eight place with a time of 4:35.97.

The Mids gained ground thanks to the efforts of the 100 butterfly event.  Luong finished in a tie for fourth place (54.79), Ghine followed in sixth place (55.12) and Weaverling recorded a seventh-place showing (55.28).

Shields saw her seed from the prelims of the 200 freestyle hold up as she placed second in the championship final with a time of 1:49.79.

The 100 breaststroke final included just one Navy swimmer, but, like Shields in the 200 breast, Halle Feng (So., Aliso Viejo, Calif.) finished in second place thanks to a time of 1:03.03.

Ghine added to Navy's point total as she recorded a time of 56.11 to finish in sixth place in the 100 backstroke.

In the women's one-meter diving competition, Ratcliffe scored 217.40 points to place third on the one-meter board, Hricay accrued 214.65 points to place fifth and Kwasniewski totaled 205.80 points to place seventh.

Saturday evening ended with Navy placing second in the 800 freestyle relay.  The team of Corbi, Hannah Pratt (So., Fishers, Ind.), Novack and Shields combined for a time for a time of 7:29.14.

The Navy men opened Saturday by winning the 200 medley relay in a time of 1:29.21.  The effort by Sukeena, Cashell, Sullivan and Williams gave them a 15-hundredths of second victory over Marist.

There were four Mids in the championship final of the 400 individual medley.  Sukeena's time of 3:54.61 placed him third and gave him team-high honors.  He was joined in the final by Matt Murphy (So., Mullica Hills, N.J.) in fifth place (3:56.89), Patrick Lacore (Sr., Norfolk, Va.) in sixth place (3:59.43) and Jakob Frick (Fr., Fredericksburg, Va.) in eighth place (4:00.68).

Sullivan was the top-finishing Mid in the 100 fly as he placed 12th overall with a time of 49.66. Joining him in the consolation final was Warren Turner (Jr., Memphis, Tenn.), who tied for 13th place with a time of 49.80.

Another four Mids qualified for the final of the 200 freestyle.  Matthew Fadel (Sr., Columbia, S.C.) posted a time of 1:38.17 to place second, Lockhart recorded a 1:39.22 to finish in third place, Zack O'Haver (Sr., Puyallup, Wash.) placed fifth with his effort of 1:39.35 and Cashell touched the wall in a time of 1:40.11 to finish in seventh place.

Cashell and Frick both qualified for the championship final of the 100 breaststroke.  Cashell finished in second place in a time of 54.84 and Frick posted a sixth-place showing with his effort of 55.65.

Turner was the lone Mid to reach the final of the 100 backstroke.  He posted a time of 50.64 to place seventh.

It was another 1-2 Navy finish in the three-meter diving event, but the placements from the one-meter were reversed.  Peng won the gold medal with a score of 297.50 points and Seibert took the silver with a total of 269.80 points.

The day closed with Navy posting a time of 6:36.57 to win the 800 freestyle relay by over five seconds.  The team was comprised of Fadel, Lockhart, O'Haver and Cashell.

The 1650 freestyle timed final began the last session of the championship Sunday afternoon.  Anderson was the top finisher for the Navy men's team as his time of 15:52.92 placed him sixth.

Sukeena was the lone Navy qualifier for the A final of the 200 backstroke.  He posted a time of 1:49.99 to finish in fourth place.

Navy swimmers took up half of the eight lanes in the championship final of the 100 freestyle.  Gaver would be the top Mid in the final as he placed third in a time of 44.54.  Sullivan ended up in sixth place (44.88), Lockhart placed seventh (45.23) and Paul Kinsella (Jr., Arlington, Va.) finished in eighth place (45.68).

Another four Mids appeared in the final of the 200 breaststroke.  Navy was led by a third-place finish by Frick with his time of 1:58.13.  Murphy in fourth place (1:58.55) and Cashell in fifth (2:00.06) followed, then Lacore placed seventh (2:01.12).

The last individual event of the meet saw Lyon record a time of 1:51.35 to place sixth in the 200 butterfly.

Navy closed the meet by winning the 400 freestyle relay in a new ECAC Championship time.  The team of Gaver, Lockhart, Williams and Sullivan recorded a time of 2:57.02 to beat second-place Bucknell by 34-hundredths of a second and better the previous meet standard of 2:58.09 set two years ago by Columbia.

For the women on Sunday, the 1650 freestyle final saw Lesho place fifth (17:23.65) and Alicia Mancilla (Sr., Miami, Fla.) record a sixth-place showing (17:35.89).

Weaverling qualified for the championship final of the 200 backstoke.  She would finish in sixth place with a time of 2:02.31.

A trio of Mids qualified for the top final in the 100 freestyle.  Novack placed sixth (51.07), Ghine finished in seventh place (51.35) and Shields had an eighth-place finish (51.47).

Navy did one better in the final of the 200 breaststroke as there were four Mids in the race.  Jessica Riggs (Jr., Tehachapi, Calif.) led a 3-4-5-6 finish for Navy with her time of 2:18.40. Following her were, in order, Milio (2:19.89), Bare (2:20.00) and Feng (2:20.14). 

Sullivan made her way into the championship final of the 200 butterfly.  She placed fourth in a time of 2:00.89.

Navy ended the meet by placing second to James Madison in the 400 freestyle relay. The Dukes posted a time of 3:22.59 to slightly better the 3:24.27 recorded by Novack, Weaverling, Ghine and Shields.

Top-10 Women's Team Standings (20 teams scored at least 1 point)
1. 696 James Madison
2. 642.5 Navy
3. 462 Penn
4. 264.5 Bucknell
5. 250 Richmond
6. 243 Stony Brook
7. 216 Columbia
8. 203 Loyola
9. 197 Marist
10. 175 Vermont

Top-10 Men's Team Standings (18 teams scored at least 1 point)
1. 767.5 Navy
2. 390.5 Bucknell
3. 348 Columbia
4. 334 Rider
5. 294 Yale
6. 258 Loyola
7. 220 Army
8. 216 Marist
9. 147 VMI
10. 145 Princeton