Pirates Primed for BIG EAST Championships

South Orange, N.J. – The Seton Hall men's and women's swimming & diving teams will have months of hard work put to the test over the next four days as their season of training culminates at the 2016-17 BIG EAST Championships held at Nassau Aquatic Center on Long Island Feb. 22-25.

Expectations are high for the Pirates and reigning BIG EAST Coach of the Year Ron Farina. The men are led by junior Noah Yanchulis (Arnold, Md.), and the Pirates are confident they will have a chance to win the program's first conference title.

Yanchulis was named the Most Outstanding Male Swimmer at the 2015-16 BIG EAST Championships following wins in the 200 and 500-yard freestyle and a silver in the 200 breaststroke. He was also on the 400 free relay team that swam a school-record 3:03.07.

This year's competition begins on Wednesday with the 800 free relay, 3-Meter dive, and 200 medley relay. Over the course of the season, the SHU men have recorded the top 800 free relay time of 6:40.63. They also have the second-best seed in the 200 medley relay.

Many individuals on the men's team have put themselves in position to compete for a top-3 finish in a wide range of events.

"We have a wealth of depth and several opportunities to have individual champions," said Farina. "Some of our best competition is on our own team which has made practice so much more competitive. I think if the men continue to do what they have been doing, and swim like they are capable of, they will come out on top."

Yanchulis, Vadim Jacobson (Arnold, Md.) and freshman Jonathan Bar-Eli (Givat-Ela, Israel) are expected to make an important impact in freestyle events. Sophomore Kyle Nash (Katy, Texas) and Lior Grubert (Yehud-Monosson, Israel) should provide significant scoring in butterfly races.

On the women's side, the Pirates are looking to build off a fourth place finish last season, and will rely on leadership from their upperclassmen to help maximize the ability of the talented newcomers.

Junior Sydney Simpson (Tallahassee, Fla.) is the defending BIG EAST 100-Yard Breaststroke Champion (1:03.13) and owns the top 100 fly (54.64) time ever by a Pirate. She currently is in the top five in the BIG EAST this season in both the 100 and 200 breast.

Freshman Sara Ouellette (Granby, Conn.) has had an outstanding rookie campaign and has the fifth-best 200-backstroke (2:00.58) and 400 IM (4:31.11) time in the BIG EAST.

"We have a lot of quality swims available to us on the women's side, and we're hoping to come out with some individual BIG EAST Championships," said Farina. "We have raced against every one of these teams so there will be no surprises. As long as the women stay focused and swim like they're capable of swimming, we can be where we want to be."

Fans can stream all the action live on the BIG EAST Digital Network via the Fox Sports GO app and online at foxsportsgo.com. For updates, results, highlights & more stay tuned to SHUpirates.com and follow @SHUSwimDive on Twitter.