Division II Men’s Swimming and Diving

2017 DII Swimming & Diving Championship: Day Four Recap

Queens (North Carolina) rolled to its third straight team title Saturday during the final day of the Division II Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships.

The four-day meet was conducted as part of the 10th Division II National Championships Festival at the Birmingham Crossplex. Team champions also were crowned on Saturday in Division II women’s swimming and diving, men’s and women’s indoor track and field and wrestling.

The Royals compiled 563.5 points to distance themselves from second-place Drury in the team standings. Nova Southeastern was third, followed by Florida Southern and Grand Valley State.

The Royals won 12 of the meet’s 21 events, including four of the five relays. The Royals, in fact, garnered 184 of their points from the five relay events.

Queens sweeps! The men claim the crown for a three-peat! — Queens Swimming (@QueensSwimming) March 12, 2017

Marius Kusch and Paul Pijulet each won their third events of the meet on Saturday, Kusch in the 100-yard freestyle and Pijulet in the 200-yard backstroke.

Drury had won the team title for 10 straight years from 2005-2014 and for 12 of the 16 years from 1999-2014.

Joan Casanovas was a double winner this year for the Panthers, winning the 1,650-yard freestyle on Saturday after having claimed the 500 free on Friday. Casanovas outdueled junior Franco Lupoli of Nova Southeastern in the 1,650. The two battled neck and neck for most of the race until Casanovas pulled away in the final 50 yards.

Marius Kusch claims the Men's Swimmer of the Meet Award! Jeff Dugdale adds with the Men's Coach of the Year Award! #goroyals #thrive — Queens Swimming (@QueensSwimming) March 12, 2017

Other notable accomplishments on Saturday included Anton Lobanov of Nova Southeastern winning his third straight 200-yard breaststroke. Lobanov, who won the 100-yard breaststroke on Friday, posted a time of 1:51.83, just shy of the record 1:51.71 he swam in 2015.

Team Standings (Top 5)

1. Queens (North Carolina), 563.5

2. Drury, 350

3. Nova Southeastern, 313

4. Florida Southern, 265

5. Grand Valley State, 255

Day Four Event Champions

1,650-yard freestyle: Joan Casanovas, Drury, 15:11.20.

100-yard freestyle: Marius Kusch, Queens (North Carolina), 43.03. 200-yard backstroke: Paul Pijulet, Queens (North Carolina), 1:42.08. 200-yard breaststroke: Anton Lobanov, Nova Southeastern, 1:51.83.