Towson University Athletics

Scoreboard

Men's Swimming and Diving 4.1.2021 John Stark

Men’s Swimming Sets Records and Grabs Medals at Day One

CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. -- Picking up at least one medal in every event of day one, the Towson University men's swimming team got off to a strong start at the 2021 CAA Men's Swimming & Diving Championships.

Through day one and including last week's diving results, the Tigers lead the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Championship standings with 275.50 points. UNCW sits in second with 266 points while Drexel scored 190 points for the third-place spot.

The Tigers opened and closed the day with gold, taking the top spot in the 200 yard freestyle relay (Michael Fazio, Cody Stewart, TJ Bearor, Ryan Baldino) with a time of 1 minute, 19.46 seconds, a program record. Towson followed that performance with another record time and a top spot finish in the 400-yard medley relay (Evan Bota, Brian Benzing, Nick McClure, Fazio) with a 3:11.85, bettering the program mark by nearly two seconds.

How it Happened

In the preliminary swims, Ryan Bookstein (4:32.89) and Drew Munson (4:38.99) grabbed spots in the A Finals. Teammates Brendan Farrar (4:40.29) and Coby Ockert (4:45.60) reached the B Finals.
The 200 IM saw all three Tigers that swam the event qualify for the A Finals. Benzing went for a 1:48.77 in the preliminary round, while Patrick Flint touched in 1:50.09 and Noah Diacumakos went for a 1:50.36. The three Tigers were lined up in lines six, seven and eight for the finals.
Three Tigers reached the A FInals for the 50-yard freestyle, led by a 20.20 from Baldino. Michael Fazio turned in a 20.33 as Luke Schwar notched a 20.49. TJ Bearor (20.77) and Trey Adkins (20.96) earned a B Final time.
Towson opened the night with a record-setting, gold-medal grabbing performance in the 200-yard freestyle relay. From the second heat, Towson put down a program-best 1:19.46 with Fazio, Stewart, Bearor and Baldino.
In longest event of the night, Bookstein powered through for a bronze finish with a 4:32.15, a quarter-second from second place.
The next event saw Benzing turn in a silver finish in the 200-yard IM in a photo finish with UNCW's Henderson Louviere. Benzing was edged by five-hundredths of a second with a time of 1:47.07.
Towson picked up huge points in the 50-yard freestyle as Fazio and Baldino took second and third, respectively. Fazio finished with a 20.12, while Baldino tied for third with a 20.19. Schwar put in a Towson freshman record with a fifth-place time of 20.35. TJ Bearor added depth with a ninth-place finish, winning the B Final with a time of 40.26.
The Tigers finished the night in spectacular fashion, bookending the day with a relay gold in the 400 medley relay. Bota, Benzing, McClure and Fazio combined for a program-best 3:11.85. Bota and Benzing set freshman records for their strokes along the way as well.

Up Next for Towson

The Towson men's swimming side continues action at the Christiansburg Aquatic Center on Friday, opening the preliminary swims at 11:10 a.m. with 400-yard IM.
Friday's action can be streamed on FloSwimming.

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Players Mentioned

Trey Adkins: Free; 6' 4"; Sophomore

Ryan Baldino: Free; 6' 1"; Junior

Ryan Bookstein: Free/Breast; 6' 5"; Sophomore

Noah Diacumakos: IM/Breast; 6' 0"; Sophomore

Brendan Farrar: Free; 5' 11"; Sophomore

Michael Fazio: Free; 6' 2"; Sophomore

Patrick Flint: IM; 5' 10"; Sophomore

Nick McClure: Fly; 5' 10"; Senior

Drew Munson: Free; 5' 11"; Sophomore

Cody Stewart: Fly/Free; 5' 10"; Junior

Players Mentioned

Trey Adkins
: 6' 4"; Sophomore
: Free

Ryan Baldino
: 6' 1"; Junior
: Free

Ryan Bookstein
: 6' 5"; Sophomore
: Free/Breast

Noah Diacumakos
: 6' 0"; Sophomore
: IM/Breast

Brendan Farrar
: 5' 11"; Sophomore
: Free

Michael Fazio
: 6' 2"; Sophomore
: Free

Patrick Flint
: 5' 10"; Sophomore
: IM

Nick McClure
: 5' 10"; Senior
: Fly

Drew Munson
: 5' 11"; Sophomore
: Free

Cody Stewart
: 5' 10"; Junior
: Fly/Free