Men's Swimming Collects Three Event TItles, Moves into First on Day Two of BIG EAST Championships

Thursday, April 8

Geneva, Ohio

10 AM / 5:45 PM

Xavier University

BIG EAST Swimming and Diving Championships

Men's Swimming Collects Three Event TItles, Moves into First on Day Two of BIG EAST Championships

04.08.21 | Swimming

Photos Thursday Finals Results Friday Prelims Heat Sheet Friday Prelims Timeline

Kali Fischer sets a school-record time in the 200 IM on the women's side

By: Hayley Schletker, Xavier Athletic Communications

GENEVA, Ohio – Xavier men's and women's swimming wrapped up day two of the 2021 BIG EAST Swimming Championships, collecting three event titles and two new school records.

Xavier's men grabbed first place in three of the four events on Thursday evening, with titles in the 500 free for Andrew Martin and 50 free for Christian Thomas, as well as a 200 free relay win in school record time, to move the Musketeers into first place.

On the women's side, Kali Fischer's bronze medal in the 200 IM highlighted the evening, with Fischer upping the school record set earlier that day. Xavier's women are in fourth after five events tonight, including a diving competition they did not compete in.

Day three of the four day championship beings on Friday at 10 a.m. with prelims, with finals set for 6 p.m.

WOMEN'S NOTABLE

Emma Swabb competed in the Championship final of the 500 free, finishing in seventh. Clara Keiser and Erin Ritz took part in the consolation final.
Kali Fischer set a new school record in the prelims of the 200 IM, then bested it by nearly two seconds, taking thid with 2:02.84. Kate Lair also competed in the Championship final, while Lydia Schaeffer and Brooke Atkins took part in the B-Final.
Erin Merke set a time of 24.05 to finish third in the B-Final of the women's 50 free. Lorelei Gaertner also took part in the consolation final.
Xavier's women closed out the second day with a fourth-place finish in the 200 free relay for Erin Merke, Clara Keiser, Lorelei Gaertner and Maureen Cummins, finishing in 1:35.02.
Xavier stands in fourth place behind Villanova, UConn and Seton Hall after seven total events, including 1-meter diving on Thursday evening, in which Xavier did not compete.

WOMEN'S FINALS TIMES

500 Free	Emma Swabb	5:00.04	7th
200 IM	Kali Fischer	2:02.39	3rd
50 Free	Erin Merke	24.05	3rd - B
200 Relay	Merke, Keiser, Gaertner, Cummins	1:35.02	4th

SCORES

1. Villanova University              347
2. University of Connecticut    276
3. Seton Hall University           187
4. Xavier University               158
5. Providence College              97
6. Butler University                  88

MEN'S NOTABLE

Andrew Martin entered the finals as the top seed in the 500 free, touching the wall in 4:24.56 in the finals to take first, over three seconds faster than second place. Martin's win is the fifth conference title for Xavier in the event and the first since 2015.
Brett Wilson took the top spot in the consolation final with a time of 4:32.50, and Ben Quon and Daniel Stroh also competed in the B-Final.
Jon Bernard collected second-place finish in the 200 IM with a time of 1:49.81. Davis Klein finished fifth and Jack Parker placed seventh in the championship final.
Christian Thomas set the top time during prelims in the 50 free, then took the BIG EAST Championship in the event, the eighth time Xavier has claimed the conference title in the event and the fourth time since joining the BIG EAST.
Thomas led four Musketeers in the Championship final, with Roark Lundal placing third, Noah Coomler finishing seventh and Ethan Wing placing eighth. Joey Mullen, Jared Ritz and Andrew Devine took part in the consolation final.
Xavier closed out the night with a win and a school-record time in the 200 free relay for Alex Sironen, Roark Lundal, Andrew Martin and Christian Thomas, finishing in 1:20.27. It's the third-straight year and seventh time overall that Xavier has won the conference title in the event.
With three event titles and eight Championship qualifier for the evening, Xavier moved into first place through seven events, leading second place Villanova by 11.

MEN'S FINALS TIMES

500 Free	Andrew Martin	4:24.56	1st
200 IM	Jon Bernard	1:49.81	2nd
50 Free	Christian Thomas	20.43	1st
200 Relay	Sironen, Lundal, Martin, Thomas	1:20.27	1st

MEN'S SCORES

1. Xavier University                 273
2. Villanova University             262
3. Seton Hall University           174
4. Providence College             171.5
5. University of Connecticut     30.5

TOMORROW'S EVENTS

Tomorrow's prelims are slated to start at 10 a.m. with finals beginning at 6 p.m.

400 IM Women
400 IM Men
100 Yard Butterfly Women
100 Yard Butterfly Men
200 Yard Freestyle Women
200 Yard Freestyle Men
100 Yard Breast Women
100 Yard Breast Women
100 Yard Back Women
100 Yard Back Men
1-Mtr Diving Men
400 Medley Relay* Women
400 Medley Relay* Men

*no preliminary round

VIDEOS

🎥 | Andrew Martin wins the men's 500 freestyle BIG EAST Championship, beating the field by more than three seconds!#LetsGoX pic.twitter.com/slMDmobcTS
— Xavier Swimming (@XavierSWIM) April 8, 2021

🎥 | BIG EAST Champion Andrew Martin speaks to the BIG EAST Digital Network following his win in the 500 free! pic.twitter.com/0eBovGjGNc
— Xavier Swimming (@XavierSWIM) April 8, 2021

🎥 | Christian Thomas, the top seed, wins the BIG EAST title in the 50 free!#LetsGoX pic.twitter.com/ic7Q6Gorup
— Xavier Swimming (@XavierSWIM) April 8, 2021

🎥 | Christian Thomas speaks with the BIG EAST Digital Network after winning the conference title in the 50 free!#LetsGoX pic.twitter.com/BTYLch4uX9
— Xavier Swimming (@XavierSWIM) April 8, 2021

🎥 | Alex Sironen, Roark Lundal, Andrew Martin and Christian Thomas close out the night with a BIG EAST Championship in the 200 free relay, in school record time!#LetsGoX pic.twitter.com/es0a9uk8kn
— Xavier Swimming (@XavierSWIM) April 9, 2021