Division III Weekly Preview: Powerhouses NYU and TCNJ Face Off

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Meet of the Week: NYU and TCNJ (At TCNJ, 2:00 pm)

At last year’s contest, New York University narrowly took down The College of New Jersey 151-147. Their 400 free relay win by .30 seconds secured their victory in the end. At the 2016 NCAA Championships, TCNJ got the upper edge placing seventh with 179 points while NYU finished ninth with 126. On paper, it appears that TCNJ will not be able to withstand the depth of NYU this time around, especially with the graduation of All-Americans James Shangle and Joe Dunn. Regardless, the meet should still provide some intense races. While there may not be any strong historic rivalries between these two teams, NYU and TCNJ are consistently two of the best in NCAA Division III.

The medley relay will go to NYU this year. There is not one specific leg that will solidify the win for the Violets, but each leg is expected to be just a bit faster than their TCNJ competitor. The freestyle relay on the other hand is up in the air. TCNJ has a history of All-American freestyle relays. The relay may also be determined by what NYU junior Timothy Kou swims. It is clear that he will compete in both breaststrokes (56.27/2:05.19 this season), but his third and fourth events could change the meet entirely.

If Kou competes in the 100 (46.91) or 200 free (1:42.68), two other individual events he can win, then he would not be on the 400 free relay which would completely even out the playing field. Each team would most likely put up three 47s and a 46 in the final relay. Additionally, NYU could probably win the medley relay without Kou, as freshman Kevin Shang is just two tenths slower than TCNJ’s Andrew Nesbitt in the 100 breast. In a 50, the difference will not be great enough to matter. This would open up a spot for Kou in the last relay, securing a victory in both for NYU. If this does happen, you definitely cannot count out the TCNJ squad, but their task will become much more difficult.

Photo Courtesy: Hayley Good

Races to Watch:

50 free- While Nesbitt will probably opt out of the 50 free because TCNJ needs him in other places, this still leaves four swimmers, two from each team, that have gone between 21.40 and 21.58 so far this season. Joseph Delbuono (21.40) and Joseph Baron (21.58) of NYU will battle it out with Adam Coppola (21.47) and Scott Vitabile (21.58) of TCNJ. Both Vitabile and Baron have NCAA experience; Baron led off NYU’s 200 free relay last year in 20.92 so he will definitely be the favorite in this race. Vitabile may not swim this race because of the 200 fly, leaving a lot of pressure on Coppola to get his hand on the wall for TCNJ.

200 free- If Kou does swim the 200 free, he will be the expected winner. However, if he is not utilized here, this leaves NYU’s Daniel Sing and TCNJ’s Harrison Yi to battle for the win. Both swimmers have gone 1:43.16 so far this season. Both freshmen, this is Sing’s best time while Yi comes in at 1:40.98 from last year’s YMCA National Championships. Yi also races the 500, so he will have the closing speed if needed. He could turn the meet around early on for TCNJ if the Lions drop the medley relay and the 1,000.

100/200 fly- In the 200 distance, NYU has three swimmers who have already gone a 1:56. Freshmen Shawn Lin and Stephen Yang will backup junior captain Sean Haechler in this event, with the potential to score big points for the Violets. None of these swimmers will need to swim other individual events, so NYU can count on these men in this event. Vitabile and Sam Maquet will contest for TCNJ, as they have both gone 1:57s so far this season. Maquet out-raced Haechler by one tenth of a second at last year’s dual meet, so expect this race to come to the end. In the 100, Vitabile and Haechler, who have each gone 51-mid this season, will be joined by Delbuono who has gone 51.38. Expect NYU to dominate the 100, but the TCNJ men will hold their own in the 200 for sure.

The backstroke and breaststroke events will not be as close, as NYU is likely to sweep these races. Kou and Shang will take over the breaststrokes for NYU, while junior Chad Moody and freshman Carlos Colmenares will do the same in the 100 and 200 back. Sophomore Alex Skoog will do his best to breakup a one-two finish in these events for TCNJ. The other swimmer to watch for NYU is freshman David Bravo who will dominate the 1,000 and post some competition for Yi in the 500. Bravo has gone 10:00.76 and 4:45.32 this season.

While the meet as a whole may not be a nail biter down to the end, the TCNJ men have a tradition of never backing down. Expect them to give NYU a run for their money throughout the entire meet. Both NYU and TCNJ have the potential to move up in the national rankings this weekend, as the meet is sure to provide some low-stress yet intense racing and competition.

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