NJIT Takes ECAC Winter Championship by More than 300 Points

ECAC Winter Championships

• Nov. 30 – Dec. 2, 2018
• East Meadow, N.Y.
• Men: NJIT 1,635; Monmouth 1,306; Fairfield 1152.50; Manhattan College 1,048; Lafayette 945
• Results
• Team Scores

Courtesy: ECAC

EAST MEADOW, N.Y. – New Jersey Institute of Technology claimed its third championship in four years at the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Men’s Swimming and Diving Winter Championships on Sunday, Dec. 2 with a more than 300-point margin over Monmouth University, 1,635 to 1,306. The championship was hosted by Baruch College at the Nassau Aquatics Center.

After winning five events on the first two days of competition, the Highlanders added four more first-places finishes Sunday.

Kai Legband (45.05) and Joshua Franco (46.53) finished first and second in the 100-yard Freestyle early in the morning, while Nicholas Lyons followed with a 2:06.31 winning time in the 200 Breaststroke. Mattheau Bonner added a win in the 200 Butterfly with a time of 1:52.92. Legband, Franco and Lyons teamed up with Tyler Pollock to end the meet with a time of 3:05.98 to win the 400-yard Freestyle Relay – the Highlander’s fourth relay win during the weekend.

The only win Sunday that did not go to a NJIT swimmer was Monmouth University freshman Callan Smith’s win in the 200-yard Backstroke in 1:49.98. The win secured ECAC Men’s Swimmer of the Meet honors for Smith, who also won the 500 Freestyle and 100 Backstroke during the meet. During the meet, Smith contributed to nearly a quarter of Monmouth’s team points, scoring 92 points as an individual and 230 points during relays.

With the win, NJIT joins Rowan, New York University and Stevens IT as the only programs to win three or more ECAC Men’s Swimming Winter Championships.

The 2018-19 ECAC Men’s and Women’s Open Swimming and Diving Championships will be March 1-3, hosted by the U.S. Naval Academy at LeJeune Halle in Annapolis, Maryland.

Courtesy: NJIT Athletics

EAST MEADOW, NY — The Highlanders are the 2018 ECAC Winter Champions! NJIT posts 1635 points to win by a whopping 329 points over the 10-team field and second-place Monmouth University (1306). In addition, NJIT’s first-year head swimming and diving coach, Ron Farina, was named “Coach of the Meet.”

The Top-5 was rounded out by Fairfield University (1152.5), Manhattan College (1048) and Lafayette College (945).

“I am very proud of this team. It was a total team effort, as we got performances from everybody and every event,” Farina said. “Multiple personal-best times and some very fast in-season times. This meet was a very good indicator of the character of this team and I’m pleased with how strong we swam on the last day of the championships.”

Leading into the final day, the Highlanders continued to go full throttle over the competition on Sunday.

Freshman Kai Legband set the tone early, as he won his second individual race of the three-day meet by taking the 100 Yard Freestyle. His time of 0:45.05 was nearly a minute and a half ahead of his teammate Joshua Franco — who placed second in the event at 0:46.53.

Junior Nicholas Lyons followed with a first-place finish in the 200 Yard Breaststroke with a time of 2:06.31, out-touching Lafayette’s Michael Gorgan (2:07.01).

Sophomore Mattheau Bonner became the next victorious Highlanders swimmer, when he took first place in the 200 Yard Butterfly. His time of 1:52.92 was good for nearly a full second ahead of the second-place finisher, Tanner McFarland of Lafayette (1:53.80).

The Highlanders put a bow on their championship when they won their fourth relay of the meet. The quartet of Legband, Franco, Lyons and junior Tyler Pollock took the 400 Yard Freestyle Relay with a time of 3:05.98 that was more than two seconds better than a team from Manhattan (3:08.26).

In other notable performances, freshman Edward Madrigal earned a third-place finish in both the 200 Yard Backstroke (1:55.05) and 200 Yard Butterfly (1:56.04), with freshman Justin Andersen touching right behind for fourth place in the latter.

The 2018 ECAC Champions have more than a month off before returning to the pool in the new year with a road meet against Florida Atlantic University. The meet is scheduled for 1 p.m. in Boca Raton, Fl.

Courtesy: Monmouth Athletics

EAST MEADOW, NY –  The Monmouth University men’s and women’s swimming teams competed at the ECAC Winter Championships and turned in a number of strong performances across the three-day event.

Callan Smith claimed Swimmer of the Meet honors as the men’s team placed second out of 10 teams and improved after finishing fifth in 2017. The women’s team ended the weekend in seventh, an improvement from last season’s 16th place finish

Overall, Monmouth set 18 new team records over the weekend, in addition to numerous personal season and career-best finishes.

NOTES & QUOTES
“Impressive performance by the men’s and women’s teams this weekend at the ECAC Winter Championships. The championship meet format is a good test for the team in advance of the MAAC Championships. Swimming multiple events over several sessions helps with our preparation for February.

Many season best times, personal best times and school records are the reward for the commitment the team has made to training during the fall. The results will serve as a reminder to the team to continue working hard with the MAAC Championships in sight.”
– Head Coach Matt Nunnally

• Callan Smith won three races and set three new team records in the process as he took first in the 100-yard backstroke (50.28), the 200-yard backstroke (1:49.98) and the 500-yard freestyle (4:32.33).
• Smith also set a new Monmouth mark in the 200-yard freestyle when he touched the wall in second place in 1:40.46.
• The men’s 400-yard medley relay team of Callan Smith, Austin D’Angelo, Dylan Barkhuizen and Valance Washington put together a new MU record time of 3:26.39 in a winning performance.
• The 400-yard freestyle relay team of Callan Smith, Kevin Del Giorno, Valance Washington and Dylan Barkhuizen set a new team record time of 3:08.26 in a second-place effort.
• The Hawks took second in the men’s 200-yard medley relay as Callan Smith, Austin D’Angelo, Dylan Barkhuizen and Ethan Lucas combined for a new team record time of 1:34.02.
• The men placed second in the 800 free relay, as Callan Smith, Valance Washington, Dylan Barkhuizen and Ryan Hohman clocked in at 6:59.32.
• The men’s 200-yard freestyle relay team of Valance Washington, Kevin Del Giorno, Dylan Barkhuizen and Ethan Lucas combined for a new team record time of 1:25.78 in a third-place showing.
• Valance Washington set new team records in the 50-yard freestyle with his fourth place time of 21.34 and his fourth-place finish in the 100-yard freestyle (46.83).
• Dylan Barkhuizen‘s fifth-place time of 1:56.78 set a new MU record.
• Camryn McHugh set three Monmouth records at the event with her third-place finish in the 100-yard backstroke (56.73), her third-place finish in the 200-yard backstroke (2:02.53) and her fifth-place finish in the 100-yard butterfly (56.76).
• Monmouth’s 800-yard freestyle relay team of Camryn McHugh, Sarah Brennan, Muriel Maloney and Louise Barker set a new team record with their seventh-place time of 7:49.00.
• Lauren Baines set a new team record in the 400 IM with her time of 4:41.20.
• Louise Barker‘s time of 1:55.47 set a new MU record in the 200-yard freestyle.
• Sarah Brennan‘s time of 2:19.02 set a new team record in the 200-yard butterfly.

Note: All team records recognized are since the reintroduction of the program in 2015.

UP NEXT
The Hawks resume competition on January 15 when they travel to Lawrenceville, NJ for a dual meet with MAAC rival Rider at 5 p.m.

Courtesy: Fairfield Athletics

EAST MEADOW, N.Y. – Fairfield University Men’s Swimming and Diving completed the fall portion of its 2018-19 schedule with a third-place performance at the ECAC Winter Championships. The Stags strong showing was highlighted by ECAC Men’s Diver of the Meet honors for Lukas Stanton and Men’s Diving Coach of the Meet laurels for Dan Vener.

“I am incredibly impressed with our student-athletes this weekend,” said Head Coach Anthony Bruno. “We faced tough competition from many different conferences and our men and women both responded to the challenge. I thought the staff did a great job prepping the team this week for meet and it showed.”

Bruno was named the Women’s Coach of the Meet after leading Fairfield Women’s Swimming and Diving to their first-ever ECAC Championship.

“I am humbled that my peers voted for me as the Women’s Coach of the Meet,” Bruno added. “It is truly a shared award, and I could not do what I do without the help of Amy and especially Frisk for their work day-to-day. Coach Dan being voted Men’s Diving Coach of the Meet is well deserved and is very exciting for our program.”

Fairfield’s men claimed third place at the regional meet for the second consecutive season, earning 1,152.5 points over the three days of action. NJIT won the team crown followed by Monmouth as the only two squads ahead of the Stags in the 11-team field. Fairfield topped clubs including MAAC foe Manhattan as well as Lafayette of the Patriot League and the NEC’s St. Francis Brooklyn.

Stanton won the 3-meter dive with a score of 206.0 and placed second I the 1-meter dive with a 198.65 to lock up his Diver of the Meet distinction. Stanton accounted for 60 points for the Stags with two of the squad’s top individual finishes of the weekend.

In swimming events, Patrick Boyle led the effort with a second-place time of 16:22.13 in the 1650y freestyle and a third-place effort at 4:12.25 in the 400y IM. Both swims marked personal season-best times for the rookie.

The Stags totaled eight top-five finishes for the weekend. In addition to Stanton’s showing on the boards and Boyle’s pair of medals, Michael Sparks finished fifth in the 1650y freestyle with a time of 17:07.29. Peter Sloan slotted fifth in the 100y breaststroke with a season-best time of 58.44 seconds, and Jack Benavides also merited a season best in the 200y breaststroke, placing fifth with a time of 2:10.57.

The Stags’ top relay the 800y freestyle quartet of Peter Gori, Phillip Zyskowski, Jordan Rahurahu and Brendan Finnegan. The team finished fifth in their event, touching the wall at 7:07.61.

Fairfield returns to competition on Jan. 4 on Staten Island for a meet with Saint Peter’s. The Stags are back at RecPlex Pool on the following Friday, Jan. 11, to challenge Holy Cross at 4 p.m.

Courtesy: Manhattan College Athletics

East Meadow, NY – In a captivating display of teamwork and consistency, Manhattan men’s swimming and diving recorded a program-record 1,048 points in the 2018 ECAC Winter Championships, slotting in fourth place.

The women’s side jumped a spot from Saturday to Sunday to finish 13th throughout the three-day meet held at the Nassau County Aquatic Center.

It is the first time in school history that the Manhattan men eclipsed the 1,000-point plateau at the ECACs and the third time since the 2013-2014 campaign that the Jaspers have earned fourth. Since 2012-2013, the Kelly Green and White have registered top-five performances in all but one season.

Sophomore Artur Polyak (Haifa, Israel / Pittsburgh) made individual history of his own when he earned gold in the 200 IM on Saturday in 1:55.31. Polyak is Manhattan’s first ECAC individual champion in the 200 IM and the second Jasper to win an event, joining teammate Timothy Valentine (Massapequa, NY / Chaminade), who won the 100 Breast back in 2016.

Manhattan has only a short time to rest before participating in the Battle of the Bronx against Fordham on Wednesday, December 5. The first event is expected to start at 6:00 pm.

FRIDAY HIGHLIGHTS

• In her first ECAC dive, freshman Lexington Passamonte (Rochester, NY / Greece Athena) placed fifth in the one-meter, tallying 175.45 points. Classmates Connor Marshall (West Hartford, CT / Avon Old Farms) and Tommy Courtney (Thornwood, NY / Archbishop Stepinac) went fourth and fifth, respectively, in the three-meter.
• Manhattan’s top Men’s 200 Medley Relay was fourth with a time of 1:35.23, as Polyak and Valentine combined with freshmen Kyle Bergin (Lynbrook, NY / Lynbrook Senior) and Matthew Shen (Waxhaw, NC / Marvin Ridge).
• Freshman Branden Deiss (Benoni, South Africa / Crawford College Lonehill) captured fourth in the 1650 Free in 16:37.19, with senior captain Evan Battisti (East Meadow, NY / East Meadow) two spots behind him at sixth.

SATURDAY HIGHLIGHTS

• Deiss and Battisti went back-to-back at 10th and 11th, respectively, in the 500 Free.
• In addition to Polyak’s winning race in the 200 IM, three other Jaspers placed inside the top 20: junior Tyler Dalton (East Stroudsburg, PA / Pocono Mountain East) at 12th, Valentine at 19th and freshman Michael Popescu (Matthews, NC / Marvin Ridge) at 20th.
• Junior captain Kali Nembach (Lynbrook, NY / Lynbrook Senior) tied for 24th to earn points in the 50 Free. On the men’s side, Bergin as well as sophomores Derek Lederer (Blauvelt, NY / Tappan Zee) and Charles Ledda (New Fairfield, CT / New Fairfield) were 16th, 17th and 18th to collect 27 total points.
• Nembach combined with senior captain Morgan Fountain (Cheshire, CT / Cheshire) and freshmen Jamie Quinn (Fairfax, VA / WT Woodson) and Sarah Hamilton (Northland, New Zealand) to swim the 200 Free Relay in 1:41.61, earning 22 points. Two Jasper Men’s 200 Free Relay teams totaled 71 points.
• Dalton was fourth in the 400 IM in 4:12.64.
• Bergin swam the 100 Fly in 52.02 seconds for eighth place and 22 points.
• Deiss, Battisti, Bergin and Shen recorded points in the 200 Free, fitting in the top 21.
• Valentine led Manhattan in the 100 Breast with his time of 58.80 seconds, placing eighth.
• Sophomore Kevin Richard (Pompton Plains, NJ / Pequannock Township) was 12th in the 100 Fly in 55.47 seconds, Manhattan’s top time in the event.
• Polyak, Valentine, Bergin and Shen were fourth in the 400 Medley Relay at 3:29.93.
• Passamonte earned fourth in the three-meter dive with 180.45 points.

SUNDAY HIGHLIGHTS

• Polyak took home the silver in the 200 Back in 1:50.31, half a second off the lead. Senior Tameryn Huffman (Albuquerque, NM / Cibola) and freshman Dominick D’Esposito (Monroe Township, NJ / Saint Joseph) were 11th and 12th.
• Led by Polyak’s third-place, 46.79-second swim, three Jaspers fit inside the top 15 in the 100 Free.
• Juniors Dalton, Valentine and Will Kulp (New Fairfield, CT / New Fairfield) went fourth, sixth and ninth in the 200 Breast as Manhattan collected 70 points between the trio.
• Freshmen Grace Tague (Wantagh, NY / Wantagh) and Katelyn Hall (Nanuet, NY / Albertus Magnus) paired up with seniors Cassandra Rubino (Thiells, NY / North Rockland) and Genna Lederer (Blauvelt, NY / Tappan Zee) to swim the 400 Free Relay in 3:59.76.
• On the men’s side, Battisti, Ledda, Bergin and Polyak were fifth in the relay in 3:10.10.

PERSONAL BESTS

• Morgan Fountain: 50 Free (25.48 seconds), 100 Fly (1:01.89)
• Genna Lederer: 50 Free (26.62 seconds)
• Klaudia Nagrabska (Belmont, MA / Belmont): 100 Fly (1:01.65)
• Jamie Quinn: 200 Back (2:16.99)
• Kyle Bergin: 50 Free (22.14 seconds), 100 Fly (52.02 seconds)
• Branden Deiss: 500 Free (4:49.61), 200 Free (1:46.13)
• Michael Eboli (Scarsdale, NY / Iona Prep): 200 IM (2:13.05)
• Will Kulp: 200 Breast (2:13.38)
• Michael Popescu: 200 IM (2:03.29), 100 Breast (1:02.04), 200 Breast (2:19.48)
• Kevin Richard: 50 Free (23.05 seconds)
• Liam Ridge (Pearl River, NY / Alburtus Magnus): 100 Free (52.87 seconds)
• Matthew Shen: 100 Free (49.42 seconds)

Courtesy: Lafayette Athletics

EAST MEADOW, N.Y. – The Lafayette swimming and diving team concluded their three-day meet at the ECAC Championships on Sunday. With great performances all weekend from both teams, top ten school records were broken at a big rate. Overall, the men finished fifth and the women finished 11th at the meet.

On the men’s side, senior Noah Decker started off the Sunday session strong for the Leopards, finishing fifth out of 22 swimmers in the 200-yard backstroke, finishing in 1:57.44.

Following up Decker’s strong performance was senior Kyle Doherty, who finished fifth out of 74 swimmers in the 100-yard freestyle, in a time of 46.85. Junior Bryce Currie also placed 11th in this event, in a time of 47.85 for the Leopards.

Freshman Michael Gorgan also had a historic day for Lafayette, finishing second out of 34 swimmers in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:07.01. The time from Gorgan is good for the fourth fastest time in school history in the event.

Another second place finish for the Leopards was from sophomore Tanner McFarland in the 200-yard butterfly in a time of 1:53.80. In a field of 25 swimmers, McFarland was less than a second away from the top spot.

To close out the Sunday men performances, the foursome of senior Kyle Goodwill, Currie, senior James Doherty, and freshman Justin Lloyd took home third place out of 18 teams in the 400-yard freestyle relay.

The dominant three-day performance from Lloyd put him ninth overall in the meet for total points scored, with 95.

On the women’s side, freshman Emily Wilson started off the day strong for the Leopards, finishing fifth out of 132 swimmers in the 100-yard freestyle in a time of 52.44.

Following up Wilson’s performance was freshman Elena Uttaro, finishing 19th out of 55 swimmers in the 200-yard breaststroke in a time of 2:2933.

Rounding out the other top performance on Sunday for the women was sophomore Maya Athena Imperial, (200-yard butterfly, 13th out of 47, 2:12.42).

“Overall, we swam great,” said head coach James Dailey. “There were a lot of top ten times personal times broken in this meet. Next up is studying for the exam period with a return to harder training soon as we head to Plantation, Florida from January 5th-12th for winter training.”