2023 CAA Championships Day 3: Benzing Doubles, UNCW Men and Women Extend Leads

2023 CAA CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Wednesday, February 22 – Saturday, February 25, 2023
• Hampton Aquaplex, Hampton, VA
• Defending Champions:
  • Women: William & Mary (1x)
  • Men: UNCW (1x)
• Live Results
• Live Video
• Championship Central
• Psych Sheets
• Day 3 Finals Results

Same doesn’t have to mean unexciting. The third day of the 2023 Colonial Athletic Association Swimming & Diving Championships included many of the same beats we’ve already seen this week: records going down, nationally-fast breaststroke swims, and the UNC-Wilmington Seahawks building leads in the team standings, but it didn’t lack in fast and close racing.

Once again, the star of the day was Towson junior Brian Benzing. He’d already recorded sub-22 and sub-51 breaststroke splits on Towson’s medley relays, and won the 200 IM yesterday in record time. Today, he kicked off the men’s races by winning a close contest in the 100 fly. Benzing went out in 21.16, by far the fastest opening 50 in the field. Drexel’s Kuba Kwasny closed with a 24.35 back half, but Benzing had enough juice left to win, 46.25 to 46.29.

Of course, that was just the opening act for Benzing. The real show came in the 100 breast, where he demolished his own meet (52.34) and overall conference (51.47) records with a 51.25. Including at least some other results from tonight, that time moves him up to #7 in the nation this season, ahead of some big names like Texas’ Caspar Corbeau and Cal’s Reece Whitley. Benzing’s time also may have briefly moved him ahead of Minnesota’s Max McHugh, but the defending NCAA champ went 50.80 at the Big Ten Championships tonight.

Of course, Benzing isn’t the only CAA breaststroker who’s been making headlines this week. Delaware’s Toni Sabev also got under the meet record with a time of 51.96 for second place. That puts him roughly 26th in the nation this season, which puts him on the bubble for a NCAA invite.

What a race!@towson_swimdive's Brian Benzing sets a #CAAChamps all-time record with a 51.25 in the 100 breaststroke while @delaware_swim's Toni Sabev also goes under the previous meet record with a 51.96 pic.twitter.com/uKuAEIbG7X

— Coastal Athletic Association (@CAASports) February 25, 2023

Teamwise, the UNCW Seahawks dominated with three wins. Aiden Duffy took the the 400 IM in 3:50.68. Jacob Duracinsky won the 200 free in 1:35.17, only 0.13s off the conference records set by Colin Wright in 2020. Memorably, that was the year Wright became William & Mary’s first male NCAA qualifier in decades before the big meet was canceled due to the then-burgeoning pandemic.

Monmouth’s Callan Smith picked up a win with a 46.56 in the 100 back. That time was just 0.13s off of Colin Demers’ record from 2020.

The Seahawks closed out the night with a thrilling victory in the 200 free relay. UNCW chose to front-load its relay, as E’Likai Crompton-English led off in 19.86, Noah Sipowksi split 19.65 on the second leg. Jacob Duracinsky maintained the lead with a 19.97 split, although both Drexel and Towson had closed the gap.

It came down to the anchor leg. Drexel’s John Scully paced the field with a 19.47 split, while UNCW’s David Fitch anchored in 20.01. Fitch just barely got his hand on the wall first, 1:19.49 to 1:19.50. Meanwhile, Towson’s Luke Schwar anchored in 19.88 to touch 3rd in 1:19.57.

On the women’s side, William & Mary freshman Sophia Heilen opened up the night by setting a meet and conference record in the 100 fly. Heilen had already set the overall record earlier in the season with a time of 53.03, and she improved on that tonight with a 52.96 win.

The Tribe earned another win tonight in the 100 breast, where Ellie Scherer got her hands on the wall first, in 1:00.90, over UNCW’s Gil Shaw (1:01.11).

The Seahawks picked up a victory in the 400 IM, as Kathryn Knorr stormed to a six-second victory with a time of 4:15.22.

Delaware Mira Selling won the 200 free by nearly a second with a time of 1:45.56, as seniors from three different schools swept the top three spots. Selling also won the 200 IM last night.

On the other end of the age spectrum, Towson freshman Ally Frame won the 100 back in 53.19 to wrap up the session’s individual competition.

Northeastern closed out the night with a 1:31.01 victory in the 200 free relay, coming within 0.21s of the meet and conference records from 2012. Individual 50 free champion Jamie Koo had the fastest leadoff leg in the field with a 22.36. Kotoko Blair split 22.91, Nikita Pelletier split 23.30, and Kira Parker anchored in 22.44.

Drexel kept it close the whole way, thanks especially to a 22.58 leadoff leg from Lera Nasedkina and a 22.41 anchor leg from from Chelsea Gravereaux. UNCW’s Sarah Olson had the fastest relay leg of the night with a 21.84 split as the Seahawks’ second swimmer.

Scores Through Day 3

Women

1. UNCW – 512.5
2. W&M – 369.5
3. Northeastern – 358
4. Delaware – 348
5. Towson – 280
6. Drexel – 227
7. Monmouth – 130
8. Stony Brook – 114

Men

1. UNCW – 617
2. Towson – 443
3. Delaware – 416
4. Drexel – 367
5. W&M – 269.5
6. Monmouth – 171.5