HAMPTON, VA --- TCNJ ran away with its second straight NJAC Men's Swimming & Diving Championship trophy, racking up 1714 points and defeating the field by over 500 points. The conference title is the second in as many years since the NJAC began hosting a championship meet and is the 14th NJAC title overall in program history including the years when the champion was determined by conference dual meet record.

Throughout the weekend, the Lions racked up 12 event wins including nine individual gold medalists and three relay victories.

Merchant Marine finished second in the team standings with 1190 points, edging Salisbury which finished with 1181.5 points. Rowan and Roger Williams rounded out the top five.

The final day of competition featured a number of events, all of which saw at least the winner hit an NCAA 'B' cut if not all three medalists.

In the 200 breaststroke, Ryan Vandeveen of TCNJ claimed victory with a time of 1:57.97, followed by his teammate Shawn Kushner, who placed second in 2:00.59. Riley Williams of Roger Williams finished third in 2:00.89. All three are NCAA ‘B’ cut times.
 
The 3-meter diving event was dominated by Merchant Marine’s Thomas Cable, who took first place with a score of 505.05 points. Ethan Weiss from TCNJ secured second place with 459.50 points, while his teammate Michael Wu finished third with 424.35 points.
 
In the 200 butterfly, Rowan’s Alex Volin delivered a winning performance with a time of 1:47.14, finishing ahead of Chris Knorr from Salisbury, who placed second in 1:48.98. Pablo Salazar of TCNJ rounded out the top three, taking third place with a time of 1:49.73. All three are ‘B’ cuts.
 
The 100 freestyle featured a close race, with Jack Watson of Rowan touching the wall first in 44.51 seconds. USMMA’s Daniel Scherrer finished just behind him in 44.68, while TCNJ’s MJ Hoban secured third place with a time of 44.70 in a highly competitive final. All three times are ‘B’ cuts.
 
In the 200 backstroke, TCNJ’s Ryan Higgins won the event with a time of 1:46.33, followed by his teammate Andrew Walter, who placed second in 1:50.04. USMMA’s Teague Mayer finished third in 1:50.37. Higgins’ winning time was a ‘B’ cut time.
 
The 1650 freestyle saw Steven Bendoraitis of TCNJ take the win with a time of 15:34.83, followed closely by his teammate Gavin Formon, who finished second in 15:36.36. Both are ‘B’ cut finishes. Gavin Danze of Rowan placed third with a time of 15:54.36 to secure a podium finish.
 
The weekend wrapped up with the 400 free relay, which saw Salisbury take first place with a strong finish of 3:00.74. That hits the ‘B’ cut standard. Rowan placed second in 3:01.43 and USMMA secured third place with a time of 3:02.73.


Team Standings
1. TCNJ - 1714
2. Merchant Marine - 1190
3. Salisbury - 1181.5
4. Rowan - 971
5. Roger Williams - 625
6. Mary Washington - 598.5
7. Montclair State - 592
8. Ramapo - 275
9. William Paterson - 209