Rochester, NY – Freshman Jacob Baker posted a pair of top 10 finishes for the Clarkson University Swimming and Diving team as the Golden Knights closed out the Liberty League Championships held at Judson Pool on the campus of the Rochester Institute of Technology.

The Golden Knights' men finished in the middle of the pack, taking fifth out of nine teams with 544.5 points, trailing Rensselaer (2065.5), Rochester (1647), RIT (1018) and Union (776), but ahead of Vassar (500), Skidmore (486), St. Lawrence (344) and Bard (240). The Clarkson women came in ninth among the 10 conference teams with 238 points, ahead of Bard (156), but behind Rochester (1733.5), Rensselaer (1554.5), RIT (980), Union (754), William Smith (644), St. Lawrence (623), Vassar (576), and Skidmore (538).

Clarkson's men opened the day with a seventh-place showing in the 200 medley relay with Jacob Baker, Benjamin Vondrak, John Magnuson and Chris Bay finishing with a time of 1:41.29, while the 'B' squad earned 10 points thanks to Benjamin Thibert, Connor Maloney, Chris Bankaitis, and Gavin Lopata finishing in 1:42.60. Bankaitis came back one event later to claim 20th in the 400 individual medley with a time of 4:41.62, while classmate Garry Dorn also tacked on a point by taking 24th in 4:53.11. Ryan Gannon (25) also finished one spot out of the points for the Knights. None of the Golden Knights were able to pick up points in the 100 butterfly, but Chris Bay (26th, 56.40 seconds) and John Magnuson (28th, 56.67) just missed. Andrew Woythal (39), Kevin Atkinson (46) and Bakari Smith (48) also participated in the 100 fly.

The 200 freestyle saw Gavin Lopata vault up to 13th with a time of 1:49.61, but Conrad Koehler (36), Nicholas Lenfant (41), Ryan Markham (48), Kevin Atkinson (49), Mike Palozzi (50) and Harrison Cline (52) came up short. In the 200 breaststroke, Clarkson again had one swimmer earn points for the tally as freshman Benjamin Vondrak finished in 20th with a time of 1:03.88, six spots ahead of teammate Connor Maloney (26) and also ahead of Garry Dorn (29) and Ryan Gannon (41). Clarkson broke through with its first top-10 individual finish of the day in the 100 backstroke when Jacob Baker finished in ninth place in 55.84 seconds. Kyle Atkinson (31), Michael Sarkisian (34), and Andrew Woythal (35) also swam in the 100 back. As the lone Clarkson participant in the 1650 freestyle, Conrad Koehler finished with a time of 18:54.08 for 27th place. Meanwhile, down the road at the Webster Aquatic Center in Event number-28, Brent Reid (10th, 344.95), Will Delaney (14th, 292.30) and Austin Bentley (15th, 242.50) all earned points in the 1-meter dive.

Starting session number three, Jacob Baker enjoyed the best Clarkson finish of the day by taking sixth in the 200 backstroke in 2:01.04, making him the only Clarkson swimmer to post multiple top 10 finishes at the meet. Kyle Atkinson (28) and Michael Sarkisian (29) also finished just outside of the scoring. One event later, three Clarkson swimmers finished in the top 16 in the 100 freestyle. Sophomore Gavin Lopata took seventh in 48.52 seconds and was followed by Chris Bay in 12th (49.49) and Benjamin Thibert in 16th (49.88). Nicholas Lenfant (34), Kevin Atkinson (53), Harrison Cline (55), Mike Palozzi (57), Ryan Markham (58), Michael Sarkisian (59), and Bakari Smith (61) also competed in the eight heats of the event. The final two individual events also had three Clarkson swimmers earning points in each. The 200 breaststroke saw Benjamin Vondrak (22nd, 2:24.68), Connor Maloney (23rd, 2:25.41) and Garry Dorn (24th, 2:25.4) each pick up points, while Ryan Gannon (35) just missed. In the 200 butterfly, John Magnuson (9th, 2:04.66), Chris Bankaitis (19th, 2:11.96) and Andrew Woythal (24th, 2:16.46) combined to add 27 points to the Clarkson total. Closing out the day, two Clarkson relays finished fifth and 11th, respectively. The 'A' 400 freestyle relay team of Gavin Lopata, Benjamin Thibert, Jacob Baker and Chris Bay took fifth in 3:17.88 while the 'B' squad of Connor Maloney, Chris Bankaitis, Nicholas Lenfant, Benjamin Vondrak combined for a time of 3:28.54.

On the women's side, Lauren Grasberger, Kayla Weckesser, Brooke Atkinson and Tiffany Catano combined for ninth-place points in the 200 medley relay with a time of 2:01.73, while the 'B' squad of Sarah Halstead, Rachel Barclay, Kendal Lazarus, Katherine Blanchard picked up a pair of points in 2:10.69. Clarkson had no participants in the 400 individual medley, but in the 100 butterfly Brooke Atkinson enjoyed one of the better showings of the weekend for the Knights by taking 17th in 1:03.88. Rachel Barclay (30) also recovered quickly to participate in the 100 fly. Five swimmers missed out on the scoring in the 200 freestyle for Clarkson as Sarah Mykins (37), Kendal Lazarus (40), Samantha Denning (41), Laura Dowdy (42) and Billie Hens (43) came up just short. Kayla Weckesser was Clarkson's lone entrant in the 100 breaststroke, but she made the most of her spot by claiming a pair of points thanks to a 23rd-place finish in 1:19.07. An event later, two Clarkson swimmers made their way into the scoring as Lauren Grasberger took 17th (1:03.89) and Sarah Halstead came in 21st (1:05.73). Just outside the top 24 for the Knights were Tiffany Catano (27) and Katherine Blanchard (34). The 1650 freestyle saw no entries from Clarkson, but Isabel Dengos was able to take 16th in the 3-meter dive at the Webster Aquatic Center to close out the second session.

The third session began with the 200 backstroke and both Grasberger (16th, 2:17.84) and Halstead (20th, 2:25.91) once again gained points for the Knights, while Catano (26) came up just short. Katherine Blanchard led the Knights in the 100 freestyle by taking 40th (1:02.53) and was followed closely by Sarah Mykins (42), Kendal Lazarus (44), Samantha Denning (45), Laura Dowdy (49) and Billie Hens (50). Kayla Weckesser was once again the only Clarkson participant in the breaststroke, this time finishing the 200 in 2:49.82. The 200 butterfly saw Brooke Atkinson finish in the top 20 for the second time on Saturday, as she placed 18th in 2:25.13. The day closed with the 400 freestyle relay, as Clarkson's 'A' group of Sarah Halstead, Lauren Grasberger, Tiffany Catano and Kayla Weckesser finished with ninth-place points in 4:09.86. The 'B' squad of Katherine Blanchard, Sarah Mykins, Brooke Atkinson, and Billie Hens also earned points with a time of 4:22.90.