5 Can’t-Miss Races at MET Conference Swimming Championships

Photo Courtesy: Mona Hagelstein

By Seren Jones, Swimming World College Intern

BROOKVILLE – The Metropolitan Swimming Conference has finally arrived for the swimmers of the tri-state area. Check out the psych sheet here!

In spite of talents such as Tamara Garriock (LIU Post), Oscar Pereiro (University of Bridgeport), and Amanda Thomas (Southern Connecticut State University) having graduated, the swimmers of the Metropolitan Conference are determined to fortify the legacy that their alumni have left behind: fast swimming and record breaking.

Despite the meet being held a week later than previous years, the swimmers have been using the additional time to fine-tune and rest up during the calm before the storm.

The 20 teams which make up the conference hail from all three NCAA divisions. The likes of the University of Bridgeport and LIU Post will be looking to qualify for the Division II NCAAs, while the College of New Jersey will be looking to do the same in Division III. The women of LIU Post intend on defending their conference championship title for the third consecutive year, while the TCNJ men plan on earning their ninth consecutive conference title.

Here are 5 races that you won’t want to miss at the MET Conference Swimming Championships:

1. Women’s 200 Butterfly

What many consider to be one of the toughest races in swimming is the last individual event of the meet. Despite this, LIU Post’s Joyce Kwok will be returning to the pool to defend her conference title for the third straight year. Kwok, who is the 2013 and 2014 NCAA champion in the event, is seeded first in a time of 1:59.72, earning the NCAA Division II ‘A’ cut time and thus automatically advancing to the NCAA championship. In second place is Southern Connecticut State’s Courtney Silva (2:10.85), and in third is Jacqueline White (2:13.83) from the United States Merchant Marine Academy.

Photo Courtesy: Kyle Staggs

2. Men’s 200 Free Relay

The College of New Jersey and the University of Bridgeport will continue their tradition of battling it out for gold in the fastest relay of the championship. The TCNJ Lions are ranked first by only .22, but the Bridgeport Knights never go down without a fight. Both teams will look to qualify for the NCAAs. TCNJ enter the meet with a Division III ‘B’ cut, while the Purple Knights are currently ranked 16th in Division II.

Photo Courtesy: Hayley Good

3. Women’s 1650 Free

The University of Bridgeport is set to dominate the mile-long event with one of its newest assets, Annagrazia Bonsanti. The transfer who joined the program this spring is seeded in first place in a tremendous time of 17:04.69, a gigantic 54 seconds ahead of second place, LIU Post’s Poppy Hill. Bonsati currently occupies eighth place in all of Division II. Watch to see if she makes it under the 17-minute mark when she’s tapered, suited and shaved.

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Photo Courtesy: LIU Post Pioneers

4. Men’s 50 Freestyle

The event that gets everyone worked up for no more than 22 seconds will definitely be an interesting one at METs. Rowan University’s Jesse Novak is the only representative from his team who is seeded in the top 8 in the splash and dash. And he’s ranked at the top. The sophomore is placed ahead of Bridgeport’s senior, Ruben Gimenez, (2014 NCAA Champion in the 100 breaststroke and 100 freestyle,) with only .07 separating the two, and an additional 0.5 separating the rest of the top eight. Nothing is ever set in stone over a 50 so expect the unexpected…and a lot of fast swimming.

Photo Courtesy: Tony Romanini

5. Women’s 800 Free Relay

The race is on as the women of the University of Bridgeport and Southern Connecticut State will go head to head in what has the potential to be the meet’s most exciting relay. The SCSU Owls are placed first (7:45.22) only 0.22 ahead of the Purple Knights (7:45.44) and both teams already have the NCAA ‘B’ cut qualifying time. LIU Post sit comfortably in third place with a time of 7:52.49, but are certainly not out of the race. With eight laps to be swum by each individual, there’s enough time for anything to happen.

The Metropolitan Conference Swimming Championships will be held at Rutgers University, in Piscataway, N.J., from Feb. 20 to 22.

Click here to view the psych sheet.

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