Benzing, Badrian Earn Top Honors On CAA Men's Swimming & Diving Postseason Awards

4/6/2023 2:30:00 PM

Rob Washburn

RICHMOND, Va. (April 6, 2023) – Towson junior Brian Benzing was selected as the CAA Men's Swimmer of the Year for the third straight season, while UNCW freshman Ethan Badrian was honored as the CAA Men's Diver and Rookie Diver of the Year in a vote by the league's head coaches.

Joining Benzing and Badrian as 2023 award winners in men's swimming and diving were Drexel freshman Sebastian Smith as Rookie Swimmer of the Year. UNCW's Bobby Guntoro, Towson’s Anthony Bruno and Delaware’s Pablo Marmolejo shared CAA Men's Swimming Coach of the Year accolades and UNCW’s George Greenleaf and Delaware’s Ryan Hunt were CAA Men’s Co-Diving Coaches of the Year accolades for the third straight season.

Benzing earned honorable mention All-America honors for the second consecutive season after posting a 15^th-place finish in the 100 breast (51.48) at the NCAA Championship. He was named the Most Outstanding Swimmer at the CAA Championship after winning three individual events. Benzing captured the 200 IM with a conference-record time of 1:44.41, broke his own league record in the 100 breast with a time of 51.25 and earned gold in the 100 fly with a time of 46.25. He was also a member of the Tigers’ second-place 200 medley and 400 free relay teams, as well as the third-place 400 medley relay team.

Badrian was honored as the Most Outstanding Diver at the CAA Championship after sweeping both boards. He recorded a score of 343.15 to win the 1-meter competition and posted a score of 356.15 in the 3-meter competition, which was the best score in the event since 2016. During the season, Badrian registered the second-best score in Seahawks’ history on the 3-meter board (365.55) and third-best on the 1-meter board (327.35). It’s the fourth year in a row that the CAA Diver of the Year has come from UNCW.

Smith claimed the silver medal in the 100 free at the CAA championship with a time of 43.67. He also finished fifth in the 100 fly (46.91), 10^th in the 200 IM (1:48.12) and was a member of Drexel’s 200 medley and 400 medley relay teams that placed fourth. Smith recorded the most points of any freshman at the CAA Championship and became Drexel’s second straight Rookie Swimmer of the Year honoree.
Guntoro was chosen as the Men’s Swimming Coach of the Year for the second straight season after guiding UNCW to back-to-back titles. The Seahawks set a program record with 890 points. Marmolejo and Bruno each were named Men’s Coach of the Year for the first time after the Blue Hens placed second and the Tigers finished third at the championship.
Greenleaf and Hunt were honored for the first time as Diving Coaches of the Year. UNCW’s Badrian and Nic Newis reached the podium on both boards, while Delaware’s Philip Townsend placed second in the 3-meter competition.
In addition to the 2023 major award winners in men's swimming and diving, the following individuals and relay teams received All-CAA accolades based on their performances at the CAA Championship.

50-Freestyle: Michael Fazio, Towson; Noah Sipkowski, UNCW; E’Likai Crompton-English, UNCW
100-Freestyle: Jacob Duracinsky, UNCW; Sebastian Smith, Drexel; Michael Fazio, Towson
200-Freestyle: Jacob Duracinsky, UNCW; Michael Fazio, Towson; Andrea Casini, Drexel
500-Freestyle: Sam O’Brien, UNCW; Andrew Taylor, Delaware; Gavin Currie, Delaware
1650-Freestyle: Sam O’Brien, UNCW; Andrew Taylor, Delaware; Silas Crosby, UNCW
100-Butterfly: Brian Benzing, Towson; Kuba Kwasny, Drexel; Henderson Louviere, UNCW
200-Butterfly: Kuba Kwasny, Drexel; Jack Hattery, Delaware; Noah Fields, William & Mary
100-Breaststroke: Brian Benzing, Towson; Toni Sabev, Delaware; Kacper Karnik, Drexel
200-Breaststroke: Kacper Karnik, Drexel; Noah Diacumakos, Towson; Evan Frick, Delaware
100-Backstroke: Callan Smith, Monmouth; Gavin Currie, Delaware; Will Goldey, UNCW
200-Backstroke: Gavin Currie, Delaware; Sam O’Brien, UNCW; DJ Fechtman, Delaware
200-Individual Medley: Brian Benzing, Towson; Henderson Louviere, UNCW; Jacob Duracinsky, UNCW
400-Individual Medley: Aidan Duffy, UNCW; Alessio Gianni, Drexel; Noah Fields, William & Mary
200-Freestyle Relay: UNCW (E’Likai Crompton-English, Noah Sipowski, Jacob Duracinsky, David Fitch)
                                       Drexel (Kuba Kwasny, Alasdair Bell, Sebastian Smith, John Scully)
                                       Towson (Michael Fazio, Trey Adkins, Daniel McLaughlin, Luke Schwar)
400-Freestyle Relay: UNCW (Jacob Duracinsky, E’Likai Crompton-English, Henderson Louviere, Kenneth Lowe)
                                       Towson (Brian Benzing, Michael Fazio, Daniel McLaughlin, Luke Schwar)
                                       Drexel (Kuba Kwasny, Kevin Spear, Sebastian Smith, John Scully)
800-Freestyle Relay: UNCW (Jacob Duracinsky, Henderson Louviere, Sam O’Brien, Kenneth Lowe)
                                       Towson (Brian Benzing, Michael Fazio, Noah Diacumakos, Luke Schwar)
         Delaware (Andrew Taylor, Ryan Polino, Jacob Replogle, Gavin Currie)
200-Medley Relay: Delaware (Gavin Currie, Toni Sabev, Simeon Sabev, Matvei Namakonov)
    Towson (Evan Bota, Brian Benzing, Noah Diacumakos, Michael Fazio)
    UNCW (Jack VanHowe, Noah Sipowski, Henderson Louviere, E’Likaki Crompton-English)
400-Medley Relay: Delaware (Gavin Currie, Toni Sabev, Simeon Sabev, Miguel Vasquez)
      UNCW (Will Goldey, Noah Sipowski, Henderson Louviere, Jacob Duracinsky)
                                    Towson (Evan Bota, Brian Benzing, Noah Diacumakos, Luke Schwar)
One-Meter Dive: Ethan Badrian, UNCW; Nic Newis, UNCW; Aidan Clark, Towson
Three-Meter Dive: Ethan Badrian, UNCW; Philip Townsend, Delaware; Nic Newis, UNCW