Seton Hall University
2013 BIG EAST Championship
SHU in Seventh After Day One
2/28/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming and Diving
INDIANAPOLIS, IND. – The Seton Hall men’s swimming and diving team began its push to challenge for a conference crown on Wednesday as the 2013 BIG EAST Championships began from the IUPUI Natatorium in Indianapolis, Ind.
After three events, the Pirates sit in seventh place with 54 points, just four points outside the top-five. Notre Dame set the pace on the opening day with 133 points.
Action commenced with the one-meter diving competition on the men’s side as sophomore Ben Mitchell (Milford, Pa.) and freshman Eric Davidson (Overland Park, Kan.) looked to put the Pirates on the board early. Both SHU divers advanced past the preliminary round, diving to 12th and 14th-place finishes respectively in their opening dive sets.
In the consolation final, Mitchell improved his preliminary round score by nearly 50 points, posting a 283.20 to finish 10th overall and pick up seven points. He has now posted a top-10 in each of his two trips to the conference meet after placing seventh from the three-meter board in 2012. Davidson completed his first appearance at the championships with a 16th-place score.
Wednesday’s swim program included just two events as the 800-free and 200-medley relays marked the start of competition in the pool. In the 800-free, Tim Bosse (New Windsor, N.Y.) got the Pirates started with a 1:40.87 split, improving his team-best time of the season in the 200-free, and Brian Pauling (Sewell, N.J.), Matt Benson (Overland Park, Kan.) and Tyler Naumann (Middletown, Conn.) combined to carry the team to an eighth-place time of 6:53.61.
Day one wrapped up with the men’s 200-yard medley and Benson was back in the pool for The Hall, heading a squad that also included James Logan (Wallingford, Pa.), Ryan O'Shaughnessy (Coral Springs, Fla.) and Joey Lacus (Wethersfield, Conn.). Together, they earned the Pirates’ best finish of the day, placing seventh with a time of 1:34.33.
Both relay performances represented season-best times for SHU.
The championships will resume tomorrow, Thursday, February 28 from Indianapolis. The day's schedule includes the women's one-meter diving competition as well as the 50-free, 500-free and 200-IM individual events. The night will conclude with the 200-free relay.
A live webcast will once again be available at www.bigeastswimming.com and will begin at 10:00 a.m.
Don't forget to follow @SHUSwim on twitter for updates throughout the day.
