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February 16, 1997 -- The Loyola College Men and Women travelled up to Poughkeepsie, New York on Thursday with many hopes and expectations. The men were looking to improve upon their fourth place finish from a year ago and the women were looking to win their fifth straight championship. To do this, they needed an outstanding performance against their main competition, the host Marist team -- a team that they narrowly beat a year ago and to whom they lost convincingly this season. Unfortunately, things did not go as planned for either team.
The men finished fourth again, behind repeat champs Marist and Rider and Niagara. The women had another down to the wire championship meet. They were ahead by a good margin on Sunday, but three Marist divers placed in the top six in the one meter competition. Loyola was only ahead by three points going into the final event, the 400 yard freestyle relay. If they held off Marist in that event, they would secure victory. However, Marist won the relay and Loyola came in third behind Rider. After the men's relays, the Marist teams celebrated wildly in their home pool as all Loyola could do was watch.
There were some noteworthy individual achievements for the Hounds. Mark Gallagher won the MAAC Most Outstanding Swimmer award. He won the 50 yard free, the 100 yard back, and placed second in the 100 yard fly. Freshman Vin Massey won the 200 yard free. The Loyola Men also captured two relays. The team of Ashley Loper, Gallagher, Ken Sposato, and Massey captured the 400 yard medley relay on Friday. The next day, Gallagher, Ryan Davis, Sposato, and Loper took home the gold in the 200 medley relay. The only individual championship for the women was Amy Cole in the 50 free.
Men's Results |
Women's Results |
| 1. Marist | 1,048.0 | 1. Marist | 985.0 | |
| 2. Rider | 917.0 | 2. Loyola | 980.0 | |
| 3. Niagara | 835.0 | 3. Rider | 715.0 | |
| 4. Loyola | 721.0 | 4. Niagara | 567.0 | |
| 5. Canisius | 456.0 | 5. Iona | 538.0 | |
| 6. Fairfield | 314.0 | 6. Fairfield | 512.0 | |
| 7. Iona | 292.0 | 7. Canisius | 319.0 | |
| 8. St. Peter's | 222.0 | 8. St. Peter's | 158.0 | |
| 9. Manhattan | 48.0 |
1997 Outstanding Male Swimmer: Mark Gallagher, Loyola
1997 Outstanding Female Swimmer: Kenna Moran, Marist
1997 Outstanding Male Diver: Brenden Leddy, Marist
1997 Outstanding Female Diver: Danielle DiGeronimo, Marist
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