01/24/2009
Swim & Dive Finish Strong at Worcester City Championships; Jackson & Garcia Earn Swimmer & Diver of the Meet, Respectively

WORCESTER, MASS. 01/24/09 - Clark University's Drew Jackson was named the Worcester City Championship men's swimmer of the meet and Eileen Garcia received the women's diver of the meet in the Cougars final day of competition at the City Championships held at Holy Cross on Saturday.

Jackson, a senior from Chestertown, Md., was a double-winner en route to the men's swimmer of the meet nod. He won the 500-yard freestyle, breaking his own meet record with a time of 5:01.66, and captured the 200-yard freestyle in 1:49.87.

"It is a great accolade for Drew to be named the Worcester City Championship swimmer of the meet in his senior year," said coach Paul Phillips. "He was runner-up once before, but this year earned the honor by a unanimous coaches decision. I am really proud of Drew for the season he has put together so far - he is working harder than ever to put a great finish to a truly outstanding four-year career here at Clark."

Jackson also led the 400-yard freestyle relay team of Ryan Garr, Cooper Hart and Lamar Duffy to a second place finish (3:21.28).

On Friday, Jackson anchored the winning 400-medley relay team - the first men's relay win at the Worcester City Meet in six years.

Garcia, from New York, N.Y., not only garnered the Beth Ferraro '88 women's diver of the meet honor, but she also posted an NCAA provisional qualifying mark in the 1-meter (11 dives) and set a new school standard in the event. It marks the first time a Clark female swimmer or diver has qualified for the national championships since 1988.

"Eileen's accomplishments to this point have been remarkable," said Phillips. For someone who had never stepped on a diving board a few months ago, to qualify for NCAA's and break a 20-year old school record held by Clark Hall of Famer Beth Ferraro '88, the most distinguished women's diver in school history - what can you say?...very appropriate for her to win the Diver of the Meet award in Beth's name."

Garcia took second in the 3-meter dive with 220.15 points.

Garr, a freshman from Kingston, R.I., was also undaunted by the championship atmosphere. He broke a five-year old meet mark in the 200-yard backstroke with his first place showing in a time of 1:57.97, and won the 100-yard back (54.18).

Junior Dana Akerfelds (Bronxville, N.Y.) took home the victory in the 100-yard backstroke (1:04.03) to round out Clark's first place winners.

The Cougars also received valuable points on the board from Liz Rosen (North Attleboro, Mass.), who surpassed the meet record with her second place finish in the 500-yard free (5:23:59), in addition to setting a new meet mark in the 1,650-free on Friday; freshman Erin Smith's (Carrollton, Tx.) second place spot in both the 50-yard freestyle (26.44) and 200-yard free (2:05.07); Kayleigh Lagasse's (Pawtucket, R.I.) second place in the 200-yard butterfly (2:21.60); and Garr's second place in the 50-yard free (22.70).

Senior Sal Pezzella (South Windsor, Conn.) was third (215.70) in the 1-meter diving event, also scoring higher than the previous meet mark.

"I also would like to acknowledge Sal's return to the Worcester City Meet - he is a previous diver of the meet (freshman year)," Phillips said. "It is great to see Sal rounding back into form for the stretch run. He has been awesome in his return to the team this year and we are really happy to have him back. I am excited to see him finish his career on a high note."

The Cougar women tallied 477.5 points to finish second in the two-day meet, while the men's squad placed third with 305 points.

Holy Cross earned its eighth straight championship on the women's side with 599.5 points. WPI won the title for the men.