NSU swim teams set sights on national championship

By Eric Tovin •

With the SSC Conference championship behind them, NSU’s swimming teams have a long road ahead as they prepare for the NCAA Division II National Championship held March 11-15 in Indianapolis, Ind. The women’s swim team will look to defend its back-to-back national titles.

During the SSC Championship, held Feb. 12-16, the women’s swim team placed second while the men’s team placed third. Both teams finished the meet with a total of 18 gold medals, 10 silver, and six bronze. The women fell short of earning their fifth consecutive SSC championship by only five points against the Tampa Spartans.

In the men’s bracket, an eight-year standing meet and university record was broken by Luca Alessandrini, a senior sports and recreation major, in the 1650Y free event with a time of 15:11.36. Alessandrini also brought home one gold and two silver medals at the meet.

“It was a great feeling because not only did I break the meet record, but I broke the school record, which is one that has been standing for about eight years. It’s the third individual record I have for NSU and the fourth overall, including relays. I’ve been chasing it for four years,” Alessandrini said. “It was true joy, happiness, satisfaction, and loads of emotion.”

Head swimming coach Ben Hewitt said that last year Alessandrini missed breaking the record by two-tenths of a second. This year, Alessandrini’s pursuit culminated in a record-breaking performance that impacted Hewitt.

“For him, it’s the culmination of four years trying to break that record. It was a chase. It’s gratifying for me because it fulfills all of his goals. He was finally able to make peace with the previous result, and he did amazing. I’m very proud of him.

He had an excellent meet,” Hewitt said.

Alessandrini plans to spend his final season by making the most of his time left.

“The goal is to get out there and enjoy this because of how hard it is to get there in the first place. With all the stress that comes with it, I just want to enjoy being a shark in the pool one last time,” Alessandrini said.

In the women’s bracket, May Lowy, senior business management major, maintains a positive outlook for the team, despite falling short of what would’ve been its fifth-consecutive SSC title.

“You lose, you learn. I’m a big Chiefs fan, so seeing them lose to the Eagles and still keep their heads up, hungry for more success, resembles what I think of this meet. I’m confident we can three-peat, and I don’t know if everyone knows that,” Lowy said. “But that doesn’t matter now. It was sad, but we came back to the pool the next day working hard. We are ready for nationals. We are still in the game.”

Lowy, who is also entering her final season, recognizes the unique chance her team has to achieve something monumental: a three-peat national championship. She speaks to the team’s shared vision and the pressure they face.

“We have an opportunity right now to do something big, regardless of our past, because we look to the future. We are going to do our best, have fun, swim fast, and be there for each other,” Lowy said. “The pressure is always on, especially because every point matters, as you saw in the conference meet.”

From Hewitt’s perspective, the SSC Championship meet was a moment to consider the impact of the team’s performances and the overall results.

“The SSC Conference has really improved in terms of success, and our standards have gone up exponentially. What I get out of this as a coach is not the success, but the joy I get from being around my swimmers, getting to know them, and having their back,” Hewitt said. “I’m excited for what this has done for us. My biggest takeaway is we’re pretty fired up right now and I think that’s going to be useful in the national championship meet.”

As the team sets its sights on the National Championships, Hewitt is addressing areas for improvement, including roster adjustments and managing recent health challenges.

Despite some obstacles, Hewitt remains confident that the team’s best performances are yet to come.

“One element of this is to improve and increase the roster size beforehand,” Hewitt said. “Currently, we’re on the side of being motivated and seeing what these squads can do, getting better and faster, as their best swimming is in front of them.”

Bella Giaquinto, contributed to this report.

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