TOWSON, Md. – The Towson University men's and women's swimming & diving teams are preparing to compete in the Thomas Murphy Invitational this weekend, hosted by Loyola at Mangione Pool. Preliminary sessions will be held at 10:00 a.m. each morning, with the finals session slated for 6:00 p.m. each evening. Johns Hopkins and UMBC join the Tigers and Greyhounds at the invitational.
 
Live results will be available on the Meet Mobile app. Each evening's finals session will be streamed on ESPN+.
 
For those attending Friday's morning session, please consider allowing for extra time and possible alternate routes to access the facility. The funeral for Baltimore City Firefighter Rodney Pitts will be held at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen on Friday, Oct. 27 at 10 a.m. Accessibility to Loyola University's Fitness & Aquatic Center may be significantly impacted.
 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Loyola's men's squad enters the weekend meet at 2-0 with a 252-44 win over Lehigh and a 227-73 win over Lafayette. The Greyhounds finished fourth at last season's Patriot League Championships. Loyola's women have a 176-124 win over Lehigh and a 235-65 win over Lafayette. They finished in sixth place at last season's conference championship.
 
The UMBC men enter the weekend at 2-1 with wins over American and La Salle to start the season before falling to the Naval Academy last Friday. The squad took home the America East Championships crown last season. The Retriever women are 1-2 with a win over American before falling to La Salle and Ohio. They finished fourth at last season's America East Championships.
 
Johns Hopkins men's and women's teams enter the invitational at 0-1 with each squad taking a loss to the William & Mary almost three weeks ago. The Blue Jays' men's squad finished fourth overall at the NCAA Division III Championships last season. Rising senior Kellen Roddy was the national champion in the 1650 free. The women's team finished 11^th overall at the meet.
 
SEASON OUTLOOK
The Towson women's team is coming off a fifth-place finish at the conference championship meet in 2022-23. Sophomore Ally Frame is the reigning champion in the 100 back and took bronze in the 200 back. Diver Shannon Parrau narrowly missed the podium in the 1-meter dive with a score of 266.45 at her first conference championship meet. Four newcomers join 24 returners on the 2023-24 roster.
 
The Tigers' men's squad enters the season following a third-place finish at the CAA Championships last February. Seven newcomers join the team to accompany 16 returners from last season. The two swimmers accounting for Towson's four gold medal finishes at the 2022-23 conference championship meet have returned for the Black & Gold. Brian Benzing took gold in the 100 fly, 100 breast and 200 IM while breaking the all-time conference record in the 100 breast and 200 IM. He is a three-time defending CAA Swimmer of the Year, two-time CAA Outstanding Swimmer of the Meet and two-time Honorable Mention All-America. Michael Fazio is the two-time defending 50 free champion in the CAA and won the 100 free in 2021.
 
CAA HONOR ROLL
Brian Benzing | CAA Men's Co-Swimmer of the Week – 10/10/23
Shannon Parrau | CAA Women's Diver of the Week – 10/17/23
Aidan Clark | CAA Men's Diver of the Week – 10/17/23
Brian Benzing | CAA Men's Swimmer of the Week – 10/24/23
 
CAPTAIN'S ORDERS
Second-year head coach Anthony Bruno has named the captains for the 2023-24 seasons.
 
Women's captains: Hayley Beutel, Tiffany Matulis and Bridget Thomas.
 
Men's captains: TJ Bearor, Brian Benzing and Evan Bota.