By: DANIELA PEREZ LEAL / DEPUTY NEWS EDITOR
The LIU swimming teams, led by Head Coach Bobby Smith, and two assistant coaches, Emma Brown and Zach Towers, ended the season with multiple successful records and outstanding athletes.
During the fall season, the team achieved multiple records at Winter ECACs, including 216 season best times, 62 lifetimes best swims, and 13 school records, and Junior swimmer, Maaike Broersma, brought one ECAC Record and also was awarded Female Swimmer of the Meet.
In the same way, the swimmers Alejandro Pascual del Cid, Emilio Garcia, Giannis Venetos, and Benny Karlsson achieved six Men’s School Records at ECACs.
All these records placed the Women’s Team 4th, and the Men’s Team 2nd overall.
In addition to the success at the pool, the sharks shined academically. The Sharks Men’s team earned a GPA of 3.3 and the Women’s team GPA of 3.65 for the fall semester.
“We are so proud of our student-athletes and their achievements in the classroom along with in the pool”, said Brown.
Also, the swimmers have contributed many hours of volunteering, including aid at the 51st edition of the NYC Marathon.
Throughout the spring semester, the swimming team hosted the Senior Weekend Meet at LIU Brooklyn vs. Wagner College.
During this meet, the Men’s team won 150- 110, and the Women’s Team finished 90- 172 against the Wagner team.
According to the LIU Athletics Website, some highlights of the meet were made by Giannis Venetos and Venna Andersen who placed first in the 100-yard breaststroke. Dani Chocano Fernandez and Ella Johnson finished at the top of the 200-yard butterfly, and freshman Emilio Garcia earned first place in the 50-yard freestyle.
“Among other first-place finishes: Stephen Taylor in the 200-yard breaststroke, Chocano Fernandez in the 500-yard freestyle and 200-yard IM, Andersen in the 100-yard butterfly, and Ethan Law in the 100-yard butterfly”, LIU Athletics website informed.
At the end of the meet, coaches proudly honored and recognized the hard work and huge contributions of their 2023 seniors: Aidan Condit, Bruno Ferrari, Lincoln Greseth, Ella Johnson, Caitlyn Kanemitsu, Porter LeVasseur, Madison McCarthy, Clare McGovern, Magali Mouton, Adelyn O’Dell, Caitlin Rappaport, and Maja Uduč who will be graduating this year.
“I feel like it is unreal, four years just went by! I felt really emotional on our senior meet as I knew it was almost the end, and I would have to say bye to my friends, swimming, and coaches soon. But I feel super happy and grateful for all the experiences college gave me and what’s next”, said Mouton.
At the NEC Championships, the team had outstanding participation and they brought home 15 school records, multiple season and lifetime best times, and an NCAA B cut (200 back).
“I felt like this season was a good one. There were ups and downs but above all there was progress”, said Amaya Henry, a Junior swimmer in the Women's team.
As a team, the women achieved: first place in the 400 medley relay, second place in the 400 freestyle relay, second place in the 200 free relay, and third place in the 800 free relay.
Likewise, the men achieved: second place in the 400 medley relay, third place in the 400 freestyle relay, and third place in the 200 free relay.
One more time, Successful swimmer Maaike Broesma received the Swimmer of the Meet award and finished in first place in the 200 backstrokes, 100 backstrokes, and 50 free.
Some days later, after the season officially ended for the team, Venna Andersen, Magali Mouton, Dani Chonano, Benny Karlsson and Marcell Matyikó were recognized with Academic All-District Honors.
Finally, it is important to highlight that behind these achievements there is a team of extraordinary coaches and trainers who make the preparation possible and provide the necessary support to each athlete.
“I speak for the entire coaching staff (when I say) that we are so proud of the results from the team. Their hard work really paid off throughout the season, and they continued to support one another throughout the entire process. We would like to give a big thank you to Brandan Nakrin, our lift coach and Aphrodite Daphnis, our athletic trainer who continue to be a large contribution to our team’s success. We look forward to future seasons ahead for the Sharks”, said Brown.
Without a doubt, the team finished this season stronger and more united than ever. For sure the next season is waiting for them to continue writing a story of success, joy and hard work.
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