By Eddie Young
Sports Editor
The College’s men’s swimming and diving team successfully defended their New Jersey Athletic Conference title by putting in a dominant performance in the NJAC Championships from Feb. 13-16. They won 12 total events on the weekend, and finished with 1,714 points, far ahead of the United States Merchant Marine Academy, who finished in second with 1,190 points. The Lions have won both men’s swimming and diving NJAC championships, as this is only the second time the conference has held this tournament.
Senior Ryan Higgins was the biggest star of the weekend for the Lions, as he took home three individual titles. He won his third consecutive conference title in the 200-yard individual medley, getting out to an early lead in that final and winning with a time of 1:48.63.
Higgins also three-peated in the 200-yard backstroke, winning this event in assertive fashion, beating second place by four seconds.
He took his final title in the 400-yard individual medley, winning it for the second year in a row. He was also dominant in this event, winning by almost four seconds once again.
“It was pretty special to take the three titles,” Higgins, a mathematics major, said.
Senior Ryan VanDeVeen also took home two individual titles, winning both the 100-yard and 200-yard breaststroke events for the second year in a row. He put up a winning time of 54.39 seconds in the 100-yard breaststroke, and broke a school record with a winning time of 1:57.97 in the 200-yard breaststroke.
Senior diver Ethan Weiss won his fourth consecutive conference title in the 1-meter dive, putting up a score of 463.5 in the final round.
Freshman M.J. Hoban won his first ever conference title in the 50-yard freestyle. He won by two-hundredths of a second, with a time in the finals of 20.16 seconds.
Sophomore Steven Bendoraitis took home a victory in the 1,650-yard freestyle. Bendoraitis beat his teammate, junior Gavin Formon, by just under two seconds, finishing with a time of 15:34.83. Bendoraitis’ win took away the chance at a repeat victory in this event for Formon.
Freshman Joe McChensey won the 100-yard butterfly, giving him his first individual conference title. The McChesney family seems to be making their mark on the College’s swimming and diving program, as Joe’s older brother, James, graduated a year ago as one of the Lions’ most decorated swimmers, having won two individual national titles among a myriad of other awards. Joe, with his first conference title, is looking to be in good shape to follow in his older brother’s footsteps.
McChesney also competed in all three of the College’s relay titles, along with Hoban and junior Andrew Kidchob. Sophomore Bradley Frank helped out these three to win the 200-yard freestyle relay, as they won with a time of 1:21.42. VanDeVeen added to his collection of hardware on the weekend as he helped the trio win the other two relays, the 200 and 400-yard medleys. The Lions won those events with times of 1:28.56 and 3:16.00, respectively.
“It takes a lot of team chemistry to pull off a performance like we did,” Higgins said about the championship. “You need a close knit team to thrive off one another and find motivation to be the best for your team.”
The women finished sixth in the tournament. Junior diver Beth Evaldi was the highlight of the weekend for the Lions, as she won both the 1-meter and 3-meter dive. She got a score of 394.65 in the 1-meter and 399.20 in the 3-meter. This was her first conference title in the 1-meter dive and second straight 3-meter title.
With the NJAC season now over, the College will look ahead to the NCAA Championships, which will take place in Greensboro, North Carolina, in mid-March.
