BALTIMORE – For the first time in a long time, the Towson University men's swimming and diving team dropped a meet against Loyola University Maryland. The Tigers fell by a 168-123 count to the Greyhounds at Mangione Pool Wednesday afternoon.

Sophomore Brian Benzing continued to dominate the breaststroke, extending his winning streak in the 100-yard event. Ryan Baldino picked up two top-three individual finishes while adding to a pair of relays. Freshman diver Luke Gallagher picked up his first career win, taking the 3-meter competition.

How it Happened

• Towson led off the day with a half-second victory in the 200-yard medley relay as Evan Bota, Benzing, Nick McClure and Baldino combined for a finish in 1 minute, 30.11 seconds, edging Loyola's top squad in second at 1:30.46.
• The host Greyhounds swept the 1000 meter freestyle, with Drew Munson finishing fourth overall for the Tigers in 9:55.71.
• Sophomore Coby Ockert added a third-place finish in the 200-yard freestyle with a 1:44.37, a collegiate best for the second-year swimmer. Bota took second in the 100-yard backstroke with a 50.86 while Reed Sells touched fourth in 52.34.
• Benzing won the 100-yard breaststroke for the fourth time this season, winning by more than three seconds with a time of 54.34. Loyola's Michael Gordonw as second in 57.80.
• A fifth-year senior, McClure logged a win during the 200-yard butterfly, finishing with a 1:50.83, nearly three seconds ahead of the field. It was McClure's second-fastest time this season.
• Baldino and Luke Schwar combined for a 2-3 finish in the splash and dash as the former finished in 20.77 and the latter in 21.17. Baldino was out-touched by just four-hundredths of a second behind Loyola's Caleb Kelly.
• Dorner won the 1-meter diving event with a score of 295.19, his second highest on the low board this season. Gallagher took third with a 154.80.
• Baldino and Schwar comboed again, this time for first and second in the 100-yard freestyle. Baldino won the event in 45.72 while Schwar took second in 47.08, his second-fastest time of the season.
• Loyola took the top three spots in the 200-yard backstroke before Sells touched in fourth with a 1:53.61. Andrew Lapin (1:57.29) finished fifth. Junior Noah Diacumakos was third overall for the Tigers in the 200-yard breaststroke, finishing at 2:07.83.
• Patrick Flint was the Tigers' top swimmer in the 500-yard freestyle, stopping the clock in 4:47.54 to take fourth in the race. Drew Munson was the second Tiger in, taking fifth with a 4:54.28.
• Benzing and McClure made up ground in the 100-yard butterfly, taking first and third, respectively. Benzing finished in 49.24, a season-best, while McClure went off in 49.69, his second fastest effort of the year.
• Gallagher and Dorner went head-to-head in the 3-meter dive. The former scored a career-best 286.05 while the latter recorded a 168.30 for second. Loyola did not have any competitors in the 3-meter dive.
• Again Flint was Towson's top swimmer in the 200-yard individual medley, finishing third in 1:54.95. 
• The final race of the day was a tight relay; Loyola won the 400-yard freestyle in 3:03.24 before Towson's top group of Benzing, TJ Bearor, Schwar and Baldino finished in 3:03.73, just a half-second back.

Behind the Numbers

• Wednesday's meet ended a 59-day drought for the Tigers between competitive events; Towson's last competition was November 21, 2021, which was day three of the Bucknell Invitational.
• The setback was Towson's first against Loyola since Jan. 22, 2011 in a neutral-site meeting against the Greyhounds in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

Up Next for Towson

• The Tigers return to Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) action this Saturday with a trip to Philadelphia to take on the Dragons of Drexel University.
• Meet time is set for a 10:30 a.m. start time and will serve as Drexel's senior meet.