Denison Men Win 13th NCAC Swim & Dive Crown
2022 All-NCAC Men's Performers
GRANVILLE, OH -- The Denison men captured their 13th league title, as competition wrapped up on Saturday night at the 2022 NCAC Swimming & Diving Championships at the Trumbull Aquatics Center on the campus of Denison University.
The Big Red, who captured the team title with 1,978.5 points, logged 27 All-NCAC finishes in the 21 events contested and collected 11 NCAC titles over the four-day meet. The Kenyon men finished second overall with 1,973.5 points after winning 10 events and posting 30 All-NCAC performances, while Wabash checked in at third with 1,117 points. DePauw finished fourth overall with 994 points, followed by Wooster (973.5), Oberlin (695.5), Allegheny (589.5), Ohio Wesleyan (491.5), Hiram (329) and Wittenberg (310).
Kenyon junior Bryan Fitzgerald (West Bend, WI/West Bend East) was named the NCAC Men's Swimmer of the Year after claiming four All-NCAC certificates, winning two individual event titles, swimming on one winning relay and capturing a runner-up finish. On Wednesday, Fitzgerald and his teammates started the meet off with a win in the 800 free relay touching the wall first with an NCAA "B" cut standard of 6:36.01. The junior collected the first individual event title of Thursday evening in the 500 free with an NCAA "B" cut time of 4:26.46. Fitzgerald then captured the 400 IM title on Friday, touching the wall first in an NCAA "B" cut time of 3:51.20 to break the NCAC record that he previously set in 2020. On the final day and in the longest event of the championship, the junior posted a runner-up finish in the 1650 with an NCAA “B” cut time of 15:28.56.
In the diving well, Kenyon sophomore Israel Zavaleta (Mexico City, Mexico/Universidad del Valle de Mexico) claimed the NCAC Men's Diver of the Year award after sweeping both boards at the conference meet. Zavaleta posted regional qualifying scores in both events, scoring 483.65 points on the one-meter board and 594.85 in the three-meter competition.
In addition, Denison freshman Patrick Daly (New Albany, OH/New Albany) earned the 2022 NCAC Men's Newcomer of the Year honors after capturing four All-NCAC certificates with one victory, a runner-up showing and two third-place finishes. Daly and his teammates claimed second in the 800 free relay in an NCAA “B” cut time of 6:37.42 to open Wednesday’s events. The rookie then took third in the 200 IM in a “B” cut time of 1:49.78 on Thursday evening. On the final night of the championship, Daly recorded a third-place finish in the 100 IM in a time of 50.77, while the Big Red closed out the meet claiming the NCAC title and a “B” cut in the 400 free relay in 2:56.23, which earned Denison the team title.
Visit the championship website for complete results: (NCAC Championship Site)