Top-10 Moments of 2013-14: #3 - Pirates Gold
7/23/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming and Diving
July 23, 2014
The 2013-14 year was a momentous one for Seton Hall Athletics as the Pirates made their mark in the first year of a revamped BIG EAST Conference.
From the hardwood to the field, the pitch to the pool or on the course, the was no shortage of memorable moments across all 14 varsity athletic programs as Seton Hall student-athletes continued to honor and further the university's proud athletic tradition.
Over the final two weeks of July, SHUPirates.com in conjunction with College Hunks Hauling Junk will reveal its countdown of the Top-10 moments from the year that was.
Checking in at number three on our list are the championship performances put forth by the Pirates in the pool and from the board as divers Ben Mitchell and Gabby Signorelli combined with swimmers Kerrie Kolackovsky and James Logan to capture a golden haul that nearly doubled the program's title tally.
#3 - Pirates Gold
Entering the 2014 BIG EAST Swimming and Diving Championships, many were looking to assert their dominance in what is a new era in the storied history of the conference.
No team was more successful in doing so at the diving portion of the meet than Seton Hall as the Pirates took the competition by storm and sent a clear message that they are and will be a force to be reckoned with for years to come.
The loudest statements came from divers Ben Mitchell (Milford, Pa.) and Gabby Signorelli (Massapequa, N.Y.) who emerged as the class of the league behind a pair of historic performances.
Already a dual school record holder who has repeatedly bested his own marks from the one and three meter boards over the last three years, Mitchell continued to take Seton Hall diving to previously unprecedented heights. One year after becoming the first Seton Hall diver to advance to the "A" final at the conference meet, Mitchell took the next step by first eclipsing his next closest competitor by more than 100 points from the three-meter board and then returning to the one-meter board to complete the sweep.
And the men's 1M final standings. Ben Mitchell of @SHUSwim makes it 2-for-2. #BIGEAST @BIGEAST pic.twitter.com/pOAtAD7Xuq
-- BIG EAST Champs (@BIGEASTchamps) February 15, 2014 With the victories he became the first Seton Hall male diver to be crowned conference champion.
History was also made on the women's side as the sophomore Signorelli added a golden touch to a second season that had seen her emerge as one of the top divers in the region. With the Seton Hall women facing a 20 year title drought since Seton Hall Athletics Hall of Famer Jen Heider reached the summit for the final time in 1994, she took to the one-meter board and out-scored the next closest competitor from another institution by 70 points and as Mitchell did; made it a double when she finished atop the leaderboard from three meters as well.
Gabby Signorelli of @SHUSwim sweeps the women's boards. Final 3M standings here. #BIGEAST @BIGEAST pic.twitter.com/GHnZBtZT56
-- BIG EAST Champs (@BIGEASTchamps) February 15, 2014 Mitchell and Signorelli each received the Most Outstanding Diver Award as the class of their respective competitions while former Seton Hall diver PJ Hughes was named Diving Coach of the Year.
The championship performances served as a springboard for continued success during the swimming portion of the meet as the Pirates would tack on three more titles in the pool.
A school record holder in six different events and part of several record-holding relay squads, Kerrie Kolackovsky (Franklin Square, N.Y.) looking to add the title of "champion" to an already sterling resume. Her first effort yielded a silver medal in the 200-IM, but the momentous wins would come in her trademark breaststroke events - events in which she entered the meet as the top seed.
At 100 yards, Kolackovsky delivered a finals time of 1:04.19 after ranking first in preliminaries to finally earn that elusive climb to the top of the podium. Making the race even sweeter was a runner-up showing from sophomore Megan Mallon (Glen Mills, Pa.).
-- SHU Swim & Dive (@SHUSwimDive) February 22, 2014 The following night, Kolackovsky clocked in at 2:19.60 in the 200-yard breaststroke final, nearly four seconds ahead of the next swimmer to touch the wall. Her decorated career was completed with a share of the Most Outstanding Female Swimmer Award and all told, her efforts at the meet earned her All-BIG EAST distinction in six separate events.
Kolackovsky awarded Most Outstanding Female Swimmer along with @NovaSwimming top female swimmer. Congrats to both on an incredible meet!
-- SHU Swim & Dive (@SHUSwimDive) February 23, 2014 That number was nearly matched on the men's side by Seton Hall standout James Logan (Wallingford, Pa.) who would earn All-Conference distinction in five events but the undoubted highlight came as the top-seeded Logan secured gold in the 200-breast on the final day of competition.
Logan delivered a finals time of 2:04.09 to take first, dropping more than two seconds off his preliminary time and giving The Hall its first event champion on the men's side since Kevin Webster in 2011.
LOGAN IS GOLDEN! Junior takes 200-breast title for SHU men's first conference crown since 2011!
-- SHU Swim & Dive (@SHUSwimDive) February 23, 2014 With the comprehensive changes being enacted within Seton Hall Athletics, it is clear that the vision for the future is filled with championships. In their first opportunity in a new chapter of the BIG EAST, these four Pirates brought the first of what promises to be many titles back to South Orange.
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