College of Staten Island Athletics

The College of Staten Island men’s and women’s swim seasons continued this past weekend, as both units scored impressive numbers at the Metropolitan Swim Championships held at Rutgers University in Piscataway, New Jersey. The CSI men finished tops among all CUNYAC schools represented, finishing 8^th overall. The CSI women swam to a 14^th place finish, second among CUNYAC institutions overall.

The three-day event began with a promising start, to the tune of six top ten finishes for the Dolphins. The CSI men’s relay team of Joe Lee, Vladislav Romanov, Pavel Buyanov, and Nikolay Shevchenko finished with a 1:28.55 mark in the 200-yard Freestyle Relay, good enough for 10^th in the competition-heavy field, and later, the foursome paired in the 400-yard Medley Relay for a 3:28.09 finish, good for a third place finish. Both Shevchenko and Romanov placed third and fourth, respectively, in the 200-yard Individual Medley, shining brightly in that event as individuals.

CSI and CUNYAC diving champion April Bartlett was up to the task on the three-meter diving board, scoring 296.25 points, good for an eighth place finish. Also on day one, the foursome of Tara Meiners, Gabriella Villarruel, Jeanne Leung, and Priscilla Alvarez placed 17^th in the 400-yard Medley Relay with a time of 5:14.67, and 21^st in the 200-yard Freestyle Relay with a time of 2:05.90.

Day two saw more outstanding performances, especially on the men’s side. Shevchenko took second place overall with a 51.14 mark in the 100-yard Butterfly event, while Buyanov raced to a 56.27 finish in the 100-yard Breaststroke, good for third overall. Romanov finished 5^th overall with a 52.41 mark in the 100-yard Backstroke. The trio, along with Joe Lee also scored a third place finish in the 200-yard Medley Relay with an outstanding mark of 1:35.16, narrowly missing a school record.

Foursomes Mohamed Hikal, Tomasz Hajbert, Michael Mino, and Louis Algarin for the men and Meiners, Leung, Villarruel, and Alvarez for the women both finished 17^th in the field in the 800-yard Freestyle Relay, putting endurance to the test.

Day three saw the school leaders break away from the pack, and CSI saw its one and only gold medal by way of Vladislav Romanov’s 1:52.23 performance in the 200-yard Backstroke. Buyanov finished second in the 200-yard Breaststroke while Shevchenko finished fifth in the 200-yard Butterfly competition.

The CSI men finished in 8^th place overall, with fellow CUNYAC schools Baruch College and Lehman College, posting 13^th and 17^th places, respectively. On the women’s side, Baruch topped all CUNYAC sides by finishing in 11^th place. CSI came in 14^th, while Hunter College placed 15^th. The College of New Jersey won both men’s and women’s divisions.