Queens swimmers, divers sweep NCAA championships for third straight year

The men’s and women’s swim teams from Queens captured the NCAA Division II Swimming and Diving Championships for the third straight year Saturday night.

The men’s team held the top seed from the meet’s first day and finished with , 563.5 points. The women’s team took the lead from Drury on second day of competition and finished with 467 points.

Queens’ Marius Kusch took the NCAA Men’s Swimmer of the Meet Award. Jeff Dugdale was voted men’s NCAA Coach of the Year for leading Queens to its third consecutive national championship.

“Wow, what a year,” Dugdale said. “Our theme was grit and the team bought it. They represented Queens well. Words cannot express the emotions I am feeling. Congratulations to our basketball, and track and field programs on an excellent weekend as well.”

On the men’s side, Drury had 350 points to finish runner-up. Nova Southeastern finished third with 313 points.

Drury’s women finished second with 350 points, and Wingate was third with 346 points.

Queens’ Hannah Peiffer set a national record in the 200-yard backstroke. She took a two-second lead into the wall with a time of 1:54.48 to break the record of former Queens swimmer Caroline Arakelian from 2014.

Continuing their dominate relay performance, Kusch, Dion Dreesens, Ben Mayes, and Nicholas Arakelian, respectively, set a record as they reached the wall in the 400-yard freestyle relay. The four broke the national record with a 2:53.00.

With the fastest time in the 100-yard freestyle, Kusch grabbed a 43.03, rounding out his week with another national title. Dreesens added a fourth-place finish to the Royals point total with a time of 43.38 in the event.

Paul Pijulet went 1:42.08 in the 200 yard backstroke for the national crown. He took a second lead into the wall.

The women’s 400 freestyle relay team of Josefina Lorda-Taylor, Kyrie Dobson, Alexandra Marshall and McKenzie Stevens, respectively, touched the wall with a 3:21.30. The team secured a bronze medal for the event.

Dobson was seventh in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 50.91, followed by Marshall who placed eighth (50.92).

Dasha Talanova took a seventh-place touch in the 200-yard breaststroke, clocking a 2:15.99. Nicholas Arakelian took the sixth-fastest time on the men’s side to secure a 1:56.49.

This story was originally published March 12, 2017 at 9:55 PM with the headline "Queens swimmers, divers sweep NCAA championships for third straight year."