CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. -- After dominating the first two days of swimming at the 2020-21 Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Men's Swimming & Diving Championship, the Towson University men's program captured its first CAA title Saturday evening at the Christiansburg Aquatic Center.

Towson racked up 842.50 points, well over 200 points away from second place UNCW, which accounted for 619 points. Drexel finished third with 531 while William & Mary (495.50) and Delaware (491) rounded out the field.

The Tigers' head coach Jake Shrum was named CAA Men's Coach of the Year while record-setting freshman Brian Benzing was tapped as the Most Outstanding Performer for the Championship. Benzing set two records in the 100-yard breaststroke Friday, doing so in both the preliminary round and the finals for the gold.

For Towson, it was the program's first conference title since the 1981-82 campaign on the men's side and the first for the men's side as a member of the Colonial Athletic Association.

How it Happened

• Splitting the two timed finals for the 1,650 yard freestyle, Patrick Flint was the first Tiger in, clocking a time of 16 minutes, 10.67 seconds. Ryan Bookstein finished second with a 16:12.54. Drew Munson finished in ninth with a 16:16.51. Despite the length of the race, only 30 seconds separated first place from ninth across the two heats.
• Reed Sells was Towson's top finisher in the 200-yard backstroke, going in a 1:50.16 for fifth place. Brendan Farrar was the next Tiger in for a sixth-place finish at 1:51.28.
• The Tigers picked up their first medal of the evening in the 100-yard freestyle as Michael Fazio bagged a gold with a time of 47.34, winning by one-tenth of a second. Ryan Baldino took third, stopping the clock in 44.05. Cody Stewart was just off the podium with a 44.47. Luke Schwar was the fourth Tiger to the wall in the first six swimmers with a 44.71.
• Benzing took second in the 200-yard breaststroke, taking silver in a time of 1:58.38. Sophomore Noah Diacumakos was sixth overall with a finishing time of 2:00.75.
• Nick McClure picked up some revenge in the final individual event of his Tiger career, surging down the stretch for the 200-yard butterfly title, winning in 1:46.78, just three-hundredths of a second faster than UNCW's Paris Raptis, who won the event last year.
• The final event of the 2020-21 academic year for Towson saw the Tigers dominate the 400-yard freestyle, collecting the team's fourth relay title at the Championships this year. Benzing led off, followed by Fazio, Stewart and Baldino. The group finished in 2:54.55, a full four seconds faster than William & Mary's offering (2:58.95).