Seton Hall University
Patriot Invitational Day Two
DeLillo, Mitchell Highlight Day Two for SHU Men
11/23/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming and Diving
Nov. 23, 2013
FAIRFAX, VA. - Faced with seven total swimming events on day two of the Patriot Invitational, the Seton Hall men's swimming & diving team recorded a BIG EAST leading time in four; highlighted by the performance turned in by junior Zach DeLillo (Sinking Spring, Pa.) en route to the 100-yard butterfly final.
On the day, A total of 16 different Pirates advanced past preliminary competition as SHU made 18 appearances in finals.
DeLillo, a transfer who was a part of conference championship winning teams at Rider, surpassed Benjamin Smith of Villanova for the top spot in the conference with a preliminary time of 50.56 that was second-best among 48 entrants. DeLillo went on to place sixth in the night session, pacing a group of five Pirates who earned a second swim in the event.
Freshman Jack Poupore (Tucson, Ariz.) finished 16th overall after cracking the top-eight in the conference with a prelim time of 52.19. Classmate Keith Carlino (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.) came in 18th place while seniors Greg Black (Easton, Pa.) and Jon Ropson (McKinney, Texas) added 20th and 24th-place efforts respectively.
Junior James Logan (Wallingford, Pa.) took over the top spot in the BIG EAST in the 100-breast, emerging as the winner of the consolation final with a 58.39 mark. Seniors Joey Lacus (Wethersfield, Conn.) and Ian DeLisio (Woodstock, N.Y.) also made an appearance in the night session after ranking in the top-20 during prelims. Lacus cracked the one-minute mark (59.96) to place 20th, two spots ahead of DeLisio.
In 200-free competition, sophomore Tim Bosse (New Windsor, N.Y.) led the Pirates with an 11th place finish in the opening round, turning in a 1:43.92 that out-paces the conference-leading mark entering the weekend. Bosse went on to collect 13th place points in the consolation final and was joined in the top-20 by classmate Andrew William (Bayonne, N.J.) (20th, 1:45.88).
Bosse, Carlino, DeLillo and Logan opened the night session by finishing fifth in the 200-medley relay, clocking a time of 1:33.91 that is tops in the league to this point in the year.
Carlino also led a group of four SHU representatives who competed twice in the 100-back, placing 13th overall. Freshman Xavier Jimenez (Cincinnati, Ohio) won the C final with a 52.56 effort that ranks among the four best in the conference so far while senior Matt Benson (Overland Park, Kan.) and DeLillo placed back-to-back in the 23rd and 24th positions.
Seton Hall secured another C final victory in the 400-IM as William outswam the field and reached the wall in 4:12.80. Freshman Seth Underwood (Collegeville, Pa.) finished 21st.
For the second-straight day, the highest one round diving score of the day belonged to SHU junior Ben Mitchell (Milford, Pa.) as he posted a score of 307.05 to lead 13 male competitors after the preliminary round of the three-meter event. Mitchell followed up with a 294.60 in the final, claiming third-place points.
Sophomore Eric Davidson (Overland Park, Kan.) improved his prelim score by nearly 35 points to finish with a 256.25 in the final and take fifth-place overall.
The SHU men have 227 points after two days, sitting fifth out of eight teams. George Mason is in front with 668 points.
Competition will conclude on Saturday. Live results can be found here and a recap of the day's action will be available on SHUPirates.com
