Pirates Level Georgetown in Senior Day BIG EAST Clash

Saturday, February 1

South Orange, N.J.

11 a.m.

Seton Hall University

177

123

Georgetown

Pirates Level Georgetown in Senior Day BIG EAST Clash

2/1/2025 5:29:00 PM | Men's Swimming and Diving

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – The Seton Hall men's swimming and diving team defeated Georgetown, 177-123, in a hard-fought BIG EAST clash on Senior Day for the Pirates.

Diving
In a tightly-contested three-meter board, Nick Graham came out on top in a field of eight divers. The freshman added to his list of three-meter victories on the season with a score of 337.20 points, just over 16 points ahead the next closet diver. That next closest diver just happened to be the Pirates' own Quinn Murtha. Murtha's score of 320.5 points helped him finish nine points clear of the first Hoyas diver.

Stepping down to the one-meter board, the competition was the tightest of the season for The Hall. Entering the final dive of the event, the Pirates had secured two of the top three scoring positions, but not first. Despite entering the round with a four-point deficit to the then-event leader from Georgetown, Murtha pulled out an exquisite dive to claim victory for the Pirates with a score of 316.80. In another tight battle, Trevor Post bested Graham for third place with a score of 300.97, a mere 0.82 points ahead of his teammate. Entering the swimming portion of the meet, Seton Hall held a 27-11 lead over the Hoyas.

Swimming
The combination of Senior Day and a BIG EAST rival ratcheted the tension up before the opening relay ever began. A brilliant opening backstroke split by Chris Jackson of 22.83, 0.83 seconds faster than Georgetown, gave the Pirates a lead and the team never looked back. Ben Endersby, Michael Klimaszewski and Toma Adam held the Hoyas off, securing victory in the 200 Medley Relay with a time of 1:30.03, 0.29 seconds clear of their opposition.

As the individual program began, the Pirates were prepared to attack their BIG EAST foe in a forceful manner. In the 1000 Freestyle, BIG EAST Champion Sean Vizzard and Clil Halevi worked a near wire-to-wire photo finish, with Vizzard coming out on top in the end with a time of 9:29.85 to Halevi's 9:30.12. Kevin Cary continued to build the Pirates' momentum in the 200 Freestyle with a dominant time of 1:39.01, three seconds clear of the next swimmer.

However, the Pirates fully took the reigns and claimed this dual meet as their own in the 100 Backstroke. Across the two heats, the Pirates had the five fastest swimmers in the event. Balint Marosi won with a 50.45, Jackson came in second with a 51.26, senior Bryant LaCroix earned third with a 52.41, Kaedin Duong found himself in fourth with a 52.28 and Nick Rhodes rounded out the quintet with a time of 53.01. Klimaszewski followed that by earning his normal overall victory in the 200 Butterfly with a time of 1:51.86.

From there on, held the advantage and began to pull safely away from Hoyas in the sprint freestyle events. Adam, 20.55, and Evan Wilson, 21.50, claimed a key 1-3 finish in the 50 Free right before the break. Right after the break in the 100 Freestyle, Adam earned third place, 46.79, alongside Cary claiming first with a time of 45.77.

The Pirates earned another key 1-2 finish in the 200 Backstroke from Marosi (1:51.89) and Kale Duong (1:53.71), but the Pirates stumbled momentarily in the aftermath. The Hoyas claimed a pair of 1-2 finishes in the 200 Breaststroke and 500 Freestyle, but The Hall quickly rebounded in the 100 Butterfly. Klimaszewski claimed a dominant second-and-a-half victory, while Jackson and LaCroix claimed key end-of-scoring points.

The Pirates put this BIG EAST clash to bed after Marosi won the 200 I.M. with a time of 1:52.88, narrowly defeating his Georgetown opposition. In the end, the meet ended just like it started. Adam, Klimaszewski, Jaden Bunt and Endersby capped off the meet with a win in the 400 Freestyle Relay with a time of 3:06.59.

What's Next
The Pirates return to action on Monday, February 24, at the SPIRE Academy in Geneva, Ohio, for the first day of the BIG EAST Championships. Prelims are scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.