St. Joseph’s University on Long Island, New York Adds Men’s Swimming Team

It has been a bad few years for collegiate swimming in the state of New York, with no fewer than seven colleges dropping swimming and diving programs, but 2024 is looking up so far. St. Joseph’s University on Long Island, New York has announced that it will add a men’s swimming program for the 2024-2025 academic year, bringing the school’s offerings to 17 varsity athletics programs.

“We are extremely excited to announce the expansion of our athletic department with the introduction of a men’s swimming program,” says Melody Cope, Director of Athletics. “Building upon the proud history of success in our women’s program, we look forward to forging a new legacy of excellence with our men’s team. Under the leadership of Coach Brandenberger, whose proven track record and dedication have shaped our student-athletes over the past seven seasons, we are confident that our men’s team will experience success in the pool, in the classroom, and within the community.”

The program will be led by Chris Brandenberger, who is currently the head coach of the women’s program. Brandenberger was named the 2022-2023 Skyline Coach of the Year after the team finished 3rd out of 6 at the conference meet. They finished 3rd out of 6 teams again last week at the 2024 Skyline Championships.

Freshman AvaGrace Monti was named All-Conference First Team at this year’s meet while winning Skyline Rookie of the Year honors after winning titles in the 400 IM (4:58.16), 200 breast (2:28.58), and 100 breast (1:08.78) and placing 2nd in the 200 IM (2:16.56).

While at the helm of the women’s program, the Golden Eagles have produced eight All-Conference swimmers, three Skyline Conference Individual Champions, and an overall record of 44-23-1 in almost seven seasons.

Brandenberger has coached both men’s and women’s swimming at multiple levels throughout his career, including programs at Washington College (Md), Iona College (now University), and Stony Brook University.

The men’s team will also compete in the Skyline Conference, which currently has 5 men’s teams: USMMA, SUNY Maritime College, SUNY Purchase College, Mount Saint Mary College, and Sarah Lawrence College. The USMMA dominated last week’s conference championships with 1,074 points, 892 ahead of runners-up SUNY Maritime College.

St. Joseph’s University has campuses in Brooklyn and Long Island with each campus having its own athletics teams. The Brooklyn campus previously had a women’s swimming team, but they raced their last meet in January 2020.

The Golden Eagles of the Long Island campus compete in NCAA Division III competition. The Long Island campus has about 2,200 undergraduate students and another 400 graduate students, making it by far the larger of the two campuses.

The John A. Danzi Athletic Center includes a 25-yard, six-lane indoor pool.