Towson University Athletics

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Men's Swimming and Diving 2.17.2022 John Stark

Fazio’s Gold Highlights Day Two of League Championships

CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. – Storming back in the final 25 yards of the 50-yard freestyle, Towson University's Michael Fazio won gold Thursday night at the 2022 Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Swimming & Diving Championships.

Trailing nearly the middle of the field, Fazio closed with a burst to win the race in 19.82 seconds, earning an NCAA B Cut in the process. It was the second-fastest men's 50-yard freestyle swim in program history.

Towson is third after two days and just one point back from second with 217 points. Drexel sits second with 218 total points while UNCW leads the field with 326 points. Delaware is fourth with 208 while William & Mary is fifth with 100 points.

How it Happened

The lone Tiger in either of the finals for the men's 500-yard freestyle, Ryan Bookstein won the B Finalby two seconds, stopping the clock in 4:34.19. He missed qualifying for the A Finals by one-tenth of a second. His time would have finished sixth in the A Final.
The 200-yard individual medley was nearly a dead heat between Brian Benzing and UNCW's Henderson Louviere. The Seahawk won by less than half a second as Benzing clocked a 1:46.62. Louviere won with a 1:46.24.
Patrick Flint finished eighth in the A Final with a time of 1:48.33 while Noah Diacumakos was second in the B Final with a 1:50.22.
Fazio became the first Towson men's swimmer to win the 50-yard freestyle since the 2007 postseason with his B Cut time of 19.82 to out-touch UNCW's E'Likai English-Crompton's 19.94.
Ryan Baldino was fourth in the heat with a 20.13 while Luke Schwar took sixth in 20.35.
The final event of the day was another tight matchup between Towson and UNCW in the 400-yard medley relay. Top-seeded Towson's grouping of Evan Bota, Brian Benzing, Nick McClure and Michael Fazio pulled three seconds off their seed time, going in 3:11.61, but were nipped at the finish by UNCW's time of 3:11.17.

Up Next for Towson

Day three of the 2022 CAA Swimming and Diving Championships begins on Friday, Feb. 18 with preliminary rounds of swimming kicking off a 10 a.m.
On tap for the men's teams on Friday are the 100-yard butterfly, the 400-yard individual medley, the 200-yard freestyle, the 100-yard breaststroke and the 100-yard backstroke.
Additionally, men's diving concludes on Friday with the 3-meter event. Preliminary dives are set for 12:30 p.m. with finals after the individual swimming events.
Finals are set for a 6 p.m. start and will conclude with the 200-yard freestyle relay.
Both sessions of the Championships will be broadcast on FloSwimming.

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Players Mentioned

Ryan Baldino: Free; 6' 1"; Senior

Brian Benzing: Breast/IM/Free; 6' 2"; Sophomore

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

Evan Bota: Back/Fly; 5' 9"; Sophomore

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

Michael Fazio: Free; 6' 2"; Junior

Patrick Flint: IM; 5' 10"; Junior

Nick McClure: Fly/Back; 5' 10"; Graduate Student

Luke Schwar: Free/Breast; 6' 2"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Ryan Baldino
: 6' 1"; Senior
: Free

Brian Benzing
: 6' 2"; Sophomore
: Breast/IM/Free

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

Evan Bota
: 5' 9"; Sophomore
: Back/Fly

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

Michael Fazio
: 6' 2"; Junior
: Free

Patrick Flint
: 5' 10"; Junior
: IM

Nick McClure
: 5' 10"; Graduate Student
: Fly/Back

Luke Schwar
: 6' 2"; Sophomore
: Free/Breast