NEWARK, Del. – The Towson University swimming and diving teams travel to Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) rival Delaware on Saturday for a dual meet. The meet, held at the Rawstrom Natatorium, will begin at 1 p.m.
CollegeSwimming Rankings
The Tiger squads have found spots on CollegeSwimming's Division I Mid-Major rankings. The Tiger men are ranked 22
nd while the women hold the No. 49 spot on the women's rankings. Both Delaware squads are unranked on the Mid-Major poll.
The Tiger men hold the top spot on CollegeSwimming's CAA poll, while the Blue Hen men are ranked fifth. Towson's women are ranked third on CollegeSwimming's CAA poll and the Blue Hen women are ranked sixth.
Swimming among the Best
A few Towson swimmers hold top times among Division I swimmers this season.
Jack Saunderson ranks 68th among all Division I swimmers in the 200-yard butterfly with his NCAA 'B' cut time of 1:46.76 from the Bucknell Invitational. The men's team has five relays ranked in the top 100 for Division I teams this season. The 800-yard freestyle relay (6:41.99) is ranked 57th and the 400-yard medley relay (3:19.00) is ranked 60th. In addition, the 200-yard medley relay (1:31.04) is ranked 71st, the 400-yard freestyle relay (3:03.58) is ranked 80th and the 200-yard freestyle relay (1:23.98) is ranked 92nd.
On the women's side,
Jacy Icard posted a pair of nationally ranked times at the Bucknell Invitational. Her time of 25.41 in the 50-yard backstroke ranks 71st. In the 100-yard backstroke, Icard has an NCAA 'B' cut time of 53.79 which ranks 66th. The women's 200-yard medley relay (1:41.99) is ranked 69th among Division I teams this season. The 200-yard freestyle relay (1:33.66) is ranked 84th and the 400-yard freestyle relay (3:26.18) is ranked 97th.
Top Times in the League
Among CAA swimmers this season, the Towson men have recorded 45 top 10 performances, with 26 of those times in the top five.
Brandon Ress holds the top conference time for the 200- (1:39.15) and 500-yard freestyles (4:28.54).
Will Dougherty has the fastest 1,000-yard freestyle time (9:23.92) and
Evan Brophy's time of 15:41.98 in the 1,650-yard freestyle is the top ranked in the conference. Saunderson leads the CAA for the 100- (47.92) and 200-yard butterflies (1:46.76). The Tigers' 800-yard freestyle relay (6:41.99) and 400-yard medley relay (3:19.00) also are the best among CAA teams this season.
The women have posted 36 top 10 times among CAA swimmers, including 17 top five swims.
Corie Morton has the fastest time in the conference for the 1,650-yard freestyle (16:47.45) and Icard's time in the 50-yard backstroke (25.41) leads the CAA.
Kendall Krumenacker's time for the 200-yard individual medley (2:03.83) is the best in the conference.
Succeeding in the Classroom
Both the men's and women's teams earned Scholar All-America Team honors from the College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA), the organization announced on Wednesday. The honor goes to programs who have achieved a grade point average of 3.00 or higher for the 2016 fall semester. The Tiger men posted a 3.08 GPA while the women had a 3.30 GPA for Fall 2016.
A record 638 teams, representing 394 institutions in Division I, II, III, the NAIA and the NJCAA were selected as Scholar All-America teams. The number of teams and institutions receiving the honors increased from a year ago, with 91 additional teams and 36 more institutions picking up the honors.
I'm Honored
Seven Tigers have been recognized for their success this season in the pool. After impressing at the Bucknell Invitational, Icard was named NewDay USA Female Student-Athlete of the Week on TowsonTigers.com.
Emily Wilson earned CAA Female Diver of the Week honors for her performance at the Bucknell Invitational. In additon,
Kelsey Jehl has been named CAA Female Diver of the Week honors twice while Krumenacker has earned CAA Co-Women's Swimmer of the Week plaudits. Wilson has also picked up NewDay USA Female Student-Athlete of the Week accolades during the season.
Saunderson leads the men's side with four recognitions this season. For his performance at the Bucknell Invitational, Saunderson earned CAA Swimmer of the Week and NewDay USA Male Student-Athlete of the Week honors, his second honor of the season for both. He was also named CollegeSwimming.com's CAA Male Swimmer of the Week for the third time.
Nick Breschi has picked up CAA Swimmer of the Week and NewDay USA Male Student-Athlete of the Week honors. Dougherty has been named CollegeSwimming.com's CAA Male Swimmer of the Week this season.
Partnering with Amazing Grace
Towson has partnered with the Amazing Grace Organization, a non-profit foundation that provides financial support for clinical trials that focus on treating Osteosarcoma and families fighting the battle against pediatric cancer.
The Tigers created a training set that includes 20x200s during the month of January to raise funds and awareness for the Amazing Grace Organization. Each 200-yard swim represents one of the 20 rounds of chemotherapy that Grace Waller, the organization's founder, endured during treatment. Tiger divers are also participating by completing 20 sets of a certain dive throughout the month of January.
Fans can donate to the Towson's fundraising page and learn more about the organization here.
Up Next
Towson concludes the regular season when the swimmers travel to the three-day Nike Invitational, hosted by the University of North Carolina, from Feb. 3-5. The Tiger divers will travel to the JMU Diving Invitational, hosted by James Madison University, on Feb. 4.
