Pirates Continue Push for First BIG EAST Championship

Photo by: Kostas Lymperopoulos

Pirates Continue Push for First BIG EAST Championship

2/24/2017 10:05:00 PM | Men's Swimming and Diving

East Meadow, N.Y. – The Seton Hall men's swimming & diving team entered the day as the leader in a tight group at the top of the field, and used a multitude of talent and depth including two individual championships to secure valuable points and extend its lead Friday night at the 2017 BIG EAST Championships at Nassau Aquatic Center on Long Island.

With one day of competition remaining, the Pirates lead the way with 589.5 team points. They are followed by Georgetown (511.50) and Xavier (436).

It was another big night for junior Noah Yanchulis (Arnold, Md.), who won the 500 free Thursday evening, as he took home the 200 free title Friday with a time of 1:36.77. He has won the BIG EAST Championships 200 freestyle race for the third year in a row, and now has five individual BIG EAST titles in his collegiate career.

Right behind Yanchulis in the 200 free was Vadim Jacobson (Arnold, Md.), who touched the wall in 1:37.57. The one-two punch at the top of the 200 free field for the Pirates both earned NCAA "B" cuts.

Freshman Connor Phillips (Cape Town, South Africa) broke the school record in the 100 butterfly with a time of 48.50. His swim broke the previous school record of 48.97 that had stood since 2001.

Lior Grubert (Yehud-Monosson, Israel) led a contingent of Pirates that finished 1-2-3 in the 400 IM. Grubert recorded a winning NCAA "B" cut time of 3:54.38, and was followed by sophomore Ivan Michalovic (Glen Mills, Pa.) (3:56.28) and freshman Jonathan Bar-Eli (Givat-Ela, Israel) (3:57.09).

Four different Pirates scored points in the "A" final of the 100 breaststroke. The Hall was led by freshman Joshua Tosoni (Arnold, Md.) in the No. 2 spot (55.73), followed by junior Zohar Suslovich (Holon, Israel) in third (56.28), freshman Tre Fissella (Lancaster, Pa.) in sixth (56.62), and junior Sean Sali (Bridgewater, N.J.) in eighth (56.88).

Senior Alex Pfisterer (Mohnton, Pa) placed third in the 1-meter dive with a score of 490.55.

In the last race of the night, the 400 medley relay, the Pirates scratched out a thrilling second place finish, just 0.02 seconds ahead of Villanova in 3:17.85. The foursome of was anchored by Dakota Williams (Noank, Conn.), who brought the team to its feet cheering him on from the deck.

Looking ahead, the Pirates return to the pool Saturday morning for prelims at 10 a.m., and will look to make history following 6 p.m. finals.