2023 America East Swimming & Diving Championships
- Wednesday, February 22 – Saturday, February 25, 2023
- WPI Sports & Recreation Center, Worcester, MA
- Defending Champions:
- Women: New Hampshire (3x)
- Men: UMBC (1x)
- Live Results
- Live Video
- Championship Central
- Psych Sheet
The 2023 America East Championships are set to kick off in Worcester, Massachusetts on Wednesday night.
On the men’s side, the University of Maryland – Baltimore County (UMBC) return as the heavy favorites to repeat as conference champions after winning last season’s title and 13 out of the last 15 championships. The team is set to return two of its most valuable swimmers in the form of Oliver Gassman and Daniel Nicusan. Gassman, a sophomore, was named the Most Valuable Rookie at last year’s championships after sweeping the butterfly events with times of 47.32 in the 100 fly and 1:47.59 in the 200 fly. He also finished 2nd in the 50 freestyle (20.40) with a strong performance in his freshman year. Gassman leads the conference by over 2 seconds in each of his signature events, making him a heavy favorite to repeat. Nicusan returns as the conference record holder in the 200 breaststroke, as his winning time of 1:57:56 broke the record last season. This season Nicusan leads the conference in both breaststroke events and ranks second in the 200 IM only behind Binghamton’s Henry Shemet, giving him a strong chance of improving upon his placements from last year. The team also still boasts sprint powerhouse Niklas Weigelt, who swept the 50, 100, and 200 freestyle at last year’s meet. However, Weigelt has been slightly off of his peak in recent meets, potentially leaving the door open for a new champion to emerge.
UMBC should have a strong advantage in all of the relays given their depth. The team holds 7 out of the top 10 100 freestylers and 6 of the top 10 50 freestylers in the conference currently. They also have the top swimmer in the 100 fly, 100 back, and 100 breast, putting themselves in a comfortable position.
UMBC’s biggest opponent will be Binghamton, who also boasts a strong roster that could contend for a conference title. Elijah Lanfear has been a force in dual meets this season for the team, sitting second in the entire conference for points earned in dual meet action. Lanfear holds the top times in the conference this season in both the 100 and 50 freestyle, looking to unseat UMBC’s dominance in those events. He also holds the third-fastest 100 backstroke time in the conference, making him a multi-event threat. Binghamton also brings in reigning 500 freestyle champion Liam Murphy, who leads the conference in the 500 and 1650 freestyle, with a margin of 10 seconds over his next closest competitor in the 1650. Murphy, who was a finalist in the 200, 500, and 1650 freestyle last season, also ranks second in the conference in the 200 freestyle.
Binghamton’s biggest advantage over UMBC will come in the diving events. Last season, Binghamton finished 1-2 in both the 1M and 3M diving events with the duo of Ryan Cohn and Chris Egan. With Egan transferring to Boston College, Cohn returns as the top diver in the conference in both events by a wide margin, giving his team some much-needed points.
Last year’s third-place finishers, NJIT, could make some noise. The team returns reigning 100 backstroke champion Ian Horstkamp-Vinekar, who was also a finalist in the 200 butterfly and 200 backstroke. However, relay depth will most likely diminish their chance of catching either of the front-runners.
On the women’s side, the University of New Hampshire is looking to win its 4th-straight America East title, but the team will have to fend off some tough competitors. Last season, New Hampshire won the title with a total of 815 points, narrowly holding off UMBC. However, this year UNH will be without Anna Metzler, who was the top performer for the Wildcats last season, winning both the 200 IM and 200 Butterfly. Reigning 500 Freestyle conference champion Jamy Lum is set to return as the Wildcat’s second-highest scorer. Lum currently ranks second in the conference in the 500 free and the 200 breaststroke, where she finished 2nd last year. She also holds the top time in the conference in the 100 breaststroke by almost 2 seconds with her 1:02.03.
Like UMBC on the men’s side, UNH’s greatest strength will be the relays. The team currently leads the conference in 4 out of the 5 relay events, only ranking second to Vermont in the 800 freestyle relay. UNH also has several strong divers ranked within the top 10 in the conference, including Hannah Weatherby and Emma Clarke. However, with Maine having a stronghold over the diving events, the UNH women will need some help to reclaim their title.
This season, the University of Vermont has risen through the rankings to establish itself as UNH’s top competitor. In every relay event, UVM fields squads capable of keeping up with the UNH women, establishing themselves as a threat. In addition, a strong diving program featuring the likes of Annika Overvig and Chloe Smith keeps UVM in the conversation.
In the pool, the team is led by senior Mina Poppas, who leads the conference in the 200 freestyle and 500 freestyle this season. Including Poppas, UVM holds all three of the top times in the conference in the 500 freestyle, with Ella Church and Jackie House also contributing. Natalie Schlemmer also leads the conference in the 200 breaststroke, ahead of the aforementioned Lum, along with the 400 IM. UVM has a lot of depth to their roster this season, having at least 2 swimmers in the top 10 in the conference in every event, which could give them the edge over UNH.
In their first year in the America East, the Bryant women will look to make a splash after transferring from the NEC. In the NEC, the Bryant women were a dominant team, winning 5 straight conference titles before departing this season. Though they appear too far out of the race to win the conference title, Bryant still boasts a strong distance group that could have some impactful swims. Samantha Grenon leads the conference in the 1650 freestyle by almost 20 seconds, with teammate Natalia Kuipers ranking second in the conference. Jill Carline and Erin Doruska also rank 2nd and 5th, respectively in the conference between a slew of UVM swimmers.
With the conference getting so deep, reigning runners-up UMBC are also worth a mention. Despite leading the conference in only one event, with Caroline Sargent in the 200 IM, UMBC has a deep roster themselves, with multiple top 10 swimmers in every event. In the relays, UMBC ranks third only to UNH and UVM.
SwimSwam’s Predictions:
The men’s meet looks a lot more clear with UMBC returning as the heavy favorite. Binghamton could make a push for the title, but the team will most likely finish as the runner-up. The women’s meet is a lot murkier. UNH is the reigning conference champion and returns many strong relays and individual scorers. However, the rise of UVM and the addition of Bryant have made the conference much more about team depth than about top-end talent. Ultimately, I think it’ll come down to diving and the relays, where UNH has a decent advantage.
Men:
- UMBC
- Binghamton
- NJIT
Women:
- UNH
- UVM
- Bryant