New Paltz at SUNYAC Swimming & Diving Championships

SUNY New Paltz’s swim team faced off against other SUNY schools in the SUNYAC Swimming and Diving Championships.

The four-day event occurred from Feb. 15 to Feb. 18 at the Burt Flickinger Aquatic Center at Erie Community College in Buffalo, NY. Eight other schools were in attendance: Geneseo, Cortland, Oneonta, Oswego, Brockport, Potadam, Fredonia and Buffalo State. The New Paltz’s men’s team took third in the competition; the women took fourth. Geneseo’s men and women both took first.

“The school that’s always top in the conference for the last 15 years is Geneseo,” said Owen Rowland, a fourth-year at New Paltz and swim team captain. “Geneseo is a very strong team. They always do a great job of recruiting. And then another team that was big was Cortland. They have a lot of really fast guys. So, the top three teams were Geneseo and Cortland and then New Paltz. So that was a stiff competition between us three.”

“We pretty much were well ahead of the other teams within the conference,” Rowland added.

Day one of the competition saw New Paltz’s men and women take third. On day two, the men held third while the women fell to fourth positions, which they maintained through days three and four until the end of the competition. New Paltz’s men finished with a total score of 455, to Geneseo’s score of 1058 and Cortland’s score of 691. New Paltz’s women finished with a score of 410 to Geneseo’s score of 1017, Cortland’s score of 573 and Brockport’s score of 457.

Throughout the meet, the Hawks had notable showings in individual events. Fourth-year Kelly Donlevy placed second in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 2:09.79 and fourth-year Kirsten Giovanniello took third in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 2:12.32. First-year Antonio Vavalle placed third in the 1650-yard freestyle in 16:47.19. Rowlands took third in the 400-yard IM with a time of 4:19.85. Second-year Steven Macaluso finished second in the 100-yard butterfly in 50.93.

Noteworthy relays include Donlevy, first-year Sierra DePry, third-year Shannon Corr and second-year Alexandra Kassian taking second place in the 200-yard freestyle relay with a time of 1:40.10. For the men’s team, second-years Venn Engstrom, Lucas Hoyt, Paul Castner and Macaluso took third place in the 200-yard freestyle relay with a time of 1:27.35.

The women’s team finished out quite well. Donlevy took fifth in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 59.57 and fifth in the 200-yard IM with a time of 2:14.73. Kassian took sixth in the same 200-yard IM with a time of 2:12.25 and fourth in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:31.17. Giovanniello took fourth in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 59.03. Fourth-year Delilah Griger took seventh in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 1:02.23 and sixth in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 2:12.12. First-year Amanda O’Brien took eighth in the 1650-yard freestyle with a time of 19.06.96. DePry also took eighth in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 54.76. 

As for the men’s finishes, Vavalle took fifth in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:43.40 and seventh in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:45.43. Engstrom took seventh in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 58.46 and fifth in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 47.65. Rowlands took eighth in the 200-yard IM with a time of 1:58.74 and third in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:11.57. Second-year Euan Barclay took seventh in the 1650-yard freestyle in a time of 17:38.81. Fifth-year Ethan Bonney took fourth in the 400-yard IM with a time of 4:19.85. 

In women’s relays, Grieger, Kassian, Donlevy and DePry took third in the 200-yard medley relay with a time of 1:49.63. Third-year Julia Iaboni, Depry, Donlevy and Kassian took fourth in the 400-yard freestyle relay with a time of 3:39.70. 

In men’s relays, Castner, Engstrom, Macaluso and Vavalle took third in the 400-yard freestyle relay with a time of 3:31.73. 

Captain Rowlands credits the Hawks’ team dynamic for their performance. “Swimming is a very interesting sport as a team because most people think of it as just being a very individual sport,” he said. “But one thing that our team really brings to the table is the energy on the pool deck. That’s one thing that our team excels at, compared to any other team within the conference,” said Rowlands. “We’re always the loudest team at on average, which is fantastic. And that’s one thing I really feel a team dynamic is all about, that energy because swimming is a very tough sport on its own.”

New Paltz’s placement at the 2023 Championships mirrored that of last year’s event, where the Hawks scored 432, to Geneseo’s score of 1075 and Cortland’s score of 616.

The 2023 Championships concluded New Paltz’s 2022-2023 season. The men went 2-4, boasting a 161-46 win over Western Connecticut State and a 149-113 win against Oneonta. They lost against Vassar (94-173), Cortland (106-156), Baruch College (144-79) and Hartwick College (129-133). The women had a 3-2 season. Their victories include Adelphi University (75-37), Hartwick College (156-106) and Oneonta (98.5-79). The women lost to University Merchant Marine Academy (77-128) and Vassar College (97.5-161.5).