De Villard Named Rookie of the Meet at MAAC Swimming and Diving Finale

Freshman Marin de Villard was named the Rookie of the Meet as the Canisius swimming and diving teams capped off its week with four more program best times and two top-three finishes at the Spire Institute in Geneva, Ohio.

Overall the Golden Griffins garnered 12 broken program records, six All-MAAC performances and a MAAC Champion, with Evie Leighton winning the 200 Freestyle on day three of competition. De Villard was named men's Rookie of the Meet after he earned three All-MAAC performances, each of which broke a program record.

The Canisius women's team finished in fourth place in the meet, the program's best finish at the MAAC Championships since 2020, while the men's team finished sixth. The men's squad posted 317 points, while the women earned a score of 332 points. Niagara earned the top spot in the women's side with 697 points, while Marist garnered 664 points for a MAAC Championship for its men's team.

After taking second place in the 100 back yesterday, de Villard raised the bar again on Saturday, finishing second in the 200 backstroke with a time of 1:45.06. Similar to his record breaking 100 backstroke on day three, his record breaking 200 back time broke his own record that he set earlier this year at the Magnus Cup Invitational in Cleveland, Ohio. He is the first Canisius swimmer, male or female, to earn the title of Rookie of the Meet.

Leighton picked up her third All-MAAC finish of the meet, leading off the women's 400 free relay to help her team of Jordan O'Connor, Hannah Brainard and Ashley Allaire break a program record with a time of 3:28.18. Leighton's lead-off split also marked the fastest 100 free time in school history, finishing with a 51.17 time.

Brenna McLaughlin also added her name to the record books, finishing fifth in the women's 200 backstroke with a time of 2:03.74.

For complete coverage of Canisius swimming and diving, please follow @griffs_swim on Instagram and @GriffsSwim on X.

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Players Mentioned

Ashley Allaire: 5' 11"; Junior

Hannah Brainard: 5' 4"; Sophomore

Jordan O'Connor: 5' 5"; Senior

Marin de Villard: 6' 5"; Freshman

Evie Leighton: 5' 11"; Freshman

Brenna McLaughlin: 5' 6"; Junior

Players Mentioned

Ashley Allaire
: 5' 11"; Junior

Hannah Brainard
: 5' 4"; Sophomore

Jordan O'Connor
: 5' 5"; Senior

Marin de Villard
: 6' 5"; Freshman

Evie Leighton
: 5' 11"; Freshman

Brenna McLaughlin
: 5' 6"; Junior