Towson Sweeps Both Relays on Night One of Men's Swimming
CHAMP CENTRAL | RESULTS | HIGHLIGHTS
Towson swept both relays and took the early lead after the first day of the 2021 Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Men’s Swimming & Diving Championship at the Christiansburg Athletic Center in Christiansburg, Virginia on Thursday night.
The Tigers have a total of 276.50 points, which includes points earned at last week’s diving competition. UNCW is second with 266 points after winning two of the three individual events on Thursday. Drexel is third (190), William & Mary (131.5) is fourth and Delaware, which picked up the other individual victory, is fifth with 119.
200-Yard Freestyle Relay
Towson won the 200-yard freestyle relay for the first time ever at the CAA Championship as the team of
Michael Fazio,
Cody Stewart,
TJ Bearor and
Ryan Baldino posted a time of 1:19.46. They bettered UNCW (1:20.57) and William & Mary (1:21.36) to take the win.
500-Yard Freestyle
Delaware’s
Bryce Ciecko became the first Blue Hens’ swimmer to take gold in the 500-yard freestyle since 2015 with a time of 4:27.82.
Eric Cantrell of UNCW was second at 4:31.99 and
Ryan Bookstein of Towson was third at 4:32.15.
200-Yard Individual Medley
For the first time since 1999, UNCW claimed the title in the 200 individual medley as
Henderson Louviere posted a winning time of 1:47.02. He edged out
Brian Benzing of Towson by .05, while
Kacper Karnik of Drexel was third at 1:47.29.
50-Yard Freestyle
UNCW’s
E'Likai Crompton-English picked up the win in a thrilling 50-yard freestyle event with a time of 19.89. He edged out
Michael Fazio of Towson by .23 and
Graham Hertweck of William & Mary and
Ryan Baldino of Towson by .30.
400-Yard Medley Relay
Towson’s team of
Evan Bota,
Brian Benzing,
Nick McClure and
Michael Fazio, swept the second relay of the night with a victory in the 400-yard Medley Relay. The Tigers, with a time of 3:11.85, defeated runner-up UNCW (3:12.99) by more than a second and third-place Delaware (3:15.75) by nearly four seconds. It was Towson’s first victory in the event since 2004.
TEAM STANDINGS THROUGH DAY ONE
1) Towson ( 276.50)
2) UNCW (266)
3) Drexel (190)
4) William & Mary (131.50)
5) Delaware (119)