For Immediate Release 

November 22, 2015

RIVERDALE, NY - In its fourth meet of the season, the reintroduced Monmouth swimming team was defeated by a trio of teams Saturday afternoon. The Hawks continued their steady improvement against Manhattan, Siena, and LIU as two freshmen picked up their first event wins of the season.

Freshmen Mitch Ianneillo (Cape May, NJ/Wildwood Catholic) and Billy Lyons (Sewell, NJ/St. Augustine Prep) both picked up the first individual event wins of their career. Ianneillo had his best meet of the season, including the first win of his career in the men's 100-yard freestyle. Ianneillo's time of 50.44 seconds edged the runner-up by 0.12 seconds. Ianneillo also swam his way to a second place finish in the men's 50-yard freestyle, with a time of 22.53 seconds (just 0.31 seconds behind the winner). Billy Lyons won the men's 100-yard breaststroke in 1:04.82, edging the second place finisher by 0.18 seconds.

“It was exciting to see the freshmen put up solid swims and pull out the win,” said Monmouth head coach Matt Nunnally. “They have been close in previous meets and were able to break through today.”

Junior Sam Lynch (Ocean, NJ/Ocean Township) continued his season-long dominance, as he won two more events. Lynch placed first in the men's 200-yard individual medley with a time of 2:03.23, and paced the field two events later in the men's 100-yard butterfly (50.37). The Ocean, NJ native remains undefeated in individual events this year, winning all eight of them.

“Sam Lynch continued his fast start to the season and has put himself in a good position to be a major factor at the MAAC Championships,” added Coach Nunnally.

In the second event of the night, the quartet of Sam Lynch, Billy Lyons, Mitch Simmer, and Mitch Ianneillo placed second (1:41.77) in the men's 200-yard medley relay, finishing just 2.27 seconds behind the winning team (1:39.50).

Sophomore Anne Skimmons (Point Pleasant, NJ/Point Pleasant Borough) continued her impressive year, as she placed third in two events. Her time of 2:16.62 was 1.47 seconds behind the win in the women's 200-yard individual medley, and her time of 5:27.38 was just 7.1 seconds back in the women's 500-yard freestyle.

In the last event of the night, the men's team of Michael Lanigan (Marlboro, NJ/Marlboro), Mitch Simmer (Levittown, PA/Holy Ghost Prep), Alex Lamberti (Ocean, NJ/Ocean Township), and Nolan Wild (Bensalem, PA/Bensalem) placed second in the 200-yard freestyle relay, coming in with a time of 1:37.09.

“The overall team effort was outstanding. We are excited with how the team has responded throughout the first semester,” Nunnally concluded.

The Hawks have a long break before returning to the pool on January 23 against St. Peter's. The meet will be Monmouth's first home event of the season and the first home event in Richard E. Steadman Natatorium in decades. Start time is scheduled for 12 noon in West Long Branch.

@MonmouthSwim -- #FlyHawks