Chasing History - Men's Season in Review
5/21/2020 10:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming and Diving, Swimming and Diving
CBU looked to finish the season in a big way, as eight men qualified for the 2020 College Swimming Coaches Association of America National Invitational Championship. The team was looking to build on its runner-up finish at the meet from 2019, but it was canceled after day one due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nevertheless, CBU put together another strong season as they showed their depth and got incredible individual performances in an Olympic season. Sixteen Lancers managed to clock at least one new top-10 standard in program history.
The Lancers had to overcome challenges at the WAC Championships, as well, as the conference meet was moved to timed finals after day one because of a massive water main burst in the host city of Houston.
🤯🤯🤯
— CBU Swimming & Diving (@CBUswim) February 28, 2020
Jacob Leahy TIES his CBU record of 46.99 seconds to take third place in the 100-yard backstroke at the @WACsports Championships.#LanceUp⚔️ pic.twitter.com/kT7Y9rOSvh
Four all-conference/top-three finishes led CBU to a fifth-place finish in the WAC in 2020. Junior Jacob Leahy had a hand in all three all-conference swims, as he took third in the 100-yard freestyle (43.46 seconds) and 100 backstroke (46.99) individually. He teamed up with Sean Foster, Josh Walters and Matthew Niculae to take third place in the 200-medley relay in a CBU-record time of 1:26.89.
🥉 WHAT A START 🥉
— CBU Swimming & Diving (@CBUswim) February 27, 2020
CBU's men secure an all-conference finish in the first championship final of the @WACsports meet, as Jacob Leahy, Sean Foster, Josh Walters and Matthew Niculae take third in a Lancer record time of 1:26.89. #LanceUp⚔️ pic.twitter.com/66RfnXRXZx
Evan Honer was responsible for the fourth all-conference performance, with a third-place finish on the 1-meter board (286.45). It capped off a phenomenal true freshman season for Honer, who won 13 events (10 duals, three invites) and had 13 top-eight finishes out of 17 invite events on the year. He also updated the Lancers' record for a 3-meter dive score on a six-dive list, with a total of 369.23 in a dual with Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.
👏 ALL-WAC 👏
— CBU Swimming & Diving (@CBUswim) February 28, 2020
Evan Honer logs his second top-four finish of the @WACsports Championships, as he takes third on 1-meter (286.45). It's the first all-conference finish for the freshman. #LanceUp⚔️ pic.twitter.com/vPm1hnNlal
Walters added another record time for CBU in the 100 butterfly, as he took eighth place overall in 47.62. Senior Quinn Birtles clocked the Lancers' fourth new record with a win in the 200 fly in 1:47.04 at the 2019 Pepperdine Winter Invite.
🚨 RECORD ALERT 🚨
— CBU Swimming & Diving (@CBUswim) February 28, 2020
Josh Walters updates his own CBU record in the 100-yard butterfly, with a time of 47.62 seconds. It bests his previous PR of 47.74 in the event from last season, and secures him eighth place in the @wacsports.#LanceUp⚔️ pic.twitter.com/CmdpCzIHft
There was still more history to be made, as Matthew Niculae and Joe Molinari both logged four new top-10 times in CBU history. Birtles, Honer and Tyler Stevens were each responsible for three new top-10 performances. Leahy, Colton Babcock, Elijah Devera, Christian Meyer and David Miller all had two top-10 swims, while Walters, Foster, Robert Moseley, Ryan Schade, Trent Itow and Zane Freeman all cracked the top-10 in one event this season.
The Lancers proved to be a dangerous tournament team, with several impressive finishes this season. CBU finished top-three in all four regular-season tournaments this year, including a strong runner-up performance at the UNLV Invite.
CBU 🧹 the day, with the men claiming a 142-96 victory and the women a 132-111 win over CMS.
— CBU Swimming & Diving (@CBUswim) January 10, 2020
All that's left to do is #LanceUp⚔️ pic.twitter.com/9VKCaM2vmy
In dual action, the Lancers logged a 3-5 record this season. They faced top competition in UNLV, Grand Canyon, Wyoming, CSU Bakersfield and UNLV. Along with wins over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and Pomona-Pitzer, the highlight of their dual season came in a 163-137 win against a quality Incarnate Word program.
It was the final collegiate season for five seniors: Birtles, Schade, Sakeri Holter, Christian Britton and Mathias Scarano.
🚨 RECORD ALERT 🚨
— CBU Swimming & Diving (@CBUswim) November 25, 2019
Quinn Birtles takes down one of the oldest records in program history, clocking a 1:47.04 in the 200-yard butterfly. It tops Hall of Famer Jan Tichy's previous record of 1:47.48 set back in 2006-07.#LanceUp⚔ pic.twitter.com/q0Kb9Eyh1G
Players Mentioned
