Seton Hall University
Iona
MS&D Sweeps Iona to Open 2015
1/14/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming and Diving
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. - 54 days away from competition did little to slow the Seton Hall men's swimming & diving team as the Pirates returned in emphatic fashion on Wednesday night, sweeping all 16 events in a 190-96 rout of visiting Iona at the Arthur E. Imperatore Natatorium.
Not only did The Hall (8-1) come away with 16 first-place performances, SHU claimed each one of the top-three spots in six of 10 individual swimming events.
The first Pirate sweep of the first three positions came in the 200-free where breakout freshman Noah Yanchulis (Arnold, Md.) led the way from the gun and clocked in at 1:44.74. Sophomore Cooper Lindsley (Lancaster, Pa.) took second with a 1:46.79 mark; placing ahead of just ahead of teammate Jason Tan (Bridgewater, N.J.) (1:47.96).
Two events later, senior James Logan (Wallingford, Pa.) swam his way to a win in the 100-breast; posting a 59.40 mark to edge a pair of freshmen in Sean Sali (Bridgewater, N.J.) and Collin Dunn (Litchfield, Conn.) who clocked in second and third respectively.
In the very next men's race, another newcomer Matt Zebrowski (Sayreville, N.J.) out-classed the 200-fly field with a time of 1:54.08 that was 5.03 seconds in front of runner-up Seth Underwood (Collegeville, Pa.). Ian Campbell (Corvallis, Ore.) placed third in 2:02.37.
First-year standout Zohar Suslovich (Holon, Israel) started fast and closed out a victory in the 200-back (1:58.36) while Keith Carlino (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.) touched in second with a time of 2:00.94. Freshman Michael Mattera (Deer Park, N.Y.) occupied third with a 2:01.53 mark.
In the 500-free, Cody Wimmer (Macungie, Pa.) overtook Underwood on the final two legs to claim first with a time of 4:46.43. Underwood comfortably placed second (4:47.49) while Lindsley beat Iona's top finisher to the wall by .56 seconds; compiling a 4:56.38 effort.
The final all-Pirate top-three came in the 100-fly where Zebrowski countered a quick opening leg from teammate Zach DeLillo (Sinking Spring, Pa.) by coming home in 26.9 to post a final mark of 51.64. Yanchulis registered a second-place time of 52.74 while DeLillo added third-place points by reaching in 52.87.
The Hall also recorded the two fastest times in three additional individual swimming events; the first of which came in the 100-back where Carlino's 53.02 beat out a 54.40 showing from Suslovich. Tan out-dueled Tim Bosse (New Windsor, N.Y.) in the 100-free, creating separation in the final stretch and finishing in 48.59 - .16 seconds ahead of the New Windsor native.
Yanchulis added a victory in the 200-IM, turning in a time of 1:58.07 that out-paced the runner-up Zebrowski by 2.83 seconds.
As he has done so many times before, veteran diver Ben Mitchell (Milford, Pa.) spearheaded the Pirates' dominance on the board, combining with Alex Pfisterer (Mohnton, Pa.) to record the top-two scores from both one and three meters.
Mitchell kicked off the meet with a 288.07 from the lower board, out-performing the sophomore Pfisterer by only 16.65 points (271.42). Up on the three-meter board, Mitchell once again entered the rarified air of 300+ points in a six-dive set, a feat he remains the only Pirate in program history to accomplish.
The reigning BIG EAST Most Outstanding Male Diver was precise on his way to a score of 317.40 that was by far the top mark of the meet.
The Pirates' dominance extended into relay action as The Hall also notched the top-two times in the 200-medley with the team of Carlino, Logan, Zebrowski and Tan (1:36.33) edging the quartet of Suslovich, Sali, DeLillo and Bosse (1:36.61).
Wimmer (1,000-free - 9:50.60), Logan (200-breast - 2:12.44) and Tan (50-free - 22.33) each added a first-place finish in which Iona managed to pick up second place points, paving the way for the 400-free relay squad of Lindsley, Carlino, Bosse and Yanchulis to clinch the complete sweep with a victorious time of 3:16.12 that was .71 seconds ahead of the Gaels in the final competition of the evening.
In all, the six Pirates to finish with two individual victories were Wimmer, Yanchulis, Logan, Tan, Zebrowski and Mitchell.
There are now just three competition dates remaining leading up to the 2015 BIG EAST Championships (2/18-2/21, Ithaca, N.Y.), the next of which will also be held in South Orange. On Saturday, January 24, the Pirates will host the Marist Red Foxes in a meet that will also serve as Senior Day. Start-time is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
