TU Takes Home Two CAA Championships

Press release from Towson University:

By Kyle Hobstetter on April 5, 2021

The Towson University men's swimming and diving team won their first CAA Conference
Championship this past weekend. It was the program's first championship since the
1981-82 season. (Submitted Photo.

This weekend, Towson became known as Titletown. That’s because two Towson University Athletics’ teams won Colonial Athletic Association
(CAA) Championships.

The Towson University men’s swimming and diving team won its first CAA Championship in program history. Swimming competed at the Christiansburg
Aquatic Center in Christiansburg, Va., while the diving competition took place at
the University of Delaware.

While this was the team’s first CAA Championship. It was the Tigers’ first conference
championship since the 1981-82 season. As his team traveled back to Towson after the
event, head coach Jake Shrum couldn’t help but think of the passionate alumni from the past that made this possible

“We’ve been really fortunate to still have a very passionate alumni base going back
to the start of the program that supports our men’s team through thick and thin,”
Shrum says. “While every team didn’t have the same level of success, we know that
a lot of people have put a lot of time and effort into making our team as good as
it possibly could be.

“We know how much winning this title means to all of them, so we’re incredibly proud
to be able to share this moment with them.”

The Tigers won in dominating fashion, racking up 842.50 points, well over 200 points
more than second place UNC Wilmington's 619 points. Drexel finished third with 531
while William & Mary (495.50) and Delaware (491) rounded out the field.

The Tigers also racked up the individual awards as well. Shrum was named CAA Men's
Coach of the Year while record-setting freshman Brian Benzing was tapped as the Most Outstanding Performer for the Championship.

Benzing set two records in the 100-yard breaststroke Friday, doing so in both the
preliminary round and the finals for the gold.

The Tigers also picked up wins throughout the competition. Michael Fazio nabbed a gold medal in the 100-yard freestyle. Benzing took second in the 200-yard
breaststroke. Senior Nick McClure won gold in the 200-yard butterfly title in his last race as a Tiger. Ryan Baldino
won gold in the 200-yard freestyle,

The Tigers also dominated in relay events, winning four over the three-day competition.
This includes the 400-yard freestyle relay, the 800-yard freestyle relay, the 200-yard
freestyle relay and the 400-yard medley relay.

What’s exciting for the future is the Tigers only graduate three seniors — Nick Fitzwilliam,
Will Canny and McClure. As they leave on top, Shrum wanted to make sure to credit
them for their leadership over the last year.

“They were absolutely the leaders that we needed this season,” Shrum says. “Nick Fitzwilliam
and Will Canny were exemplary captains this year, which presented even more of a burden
than usual. They were fantastic in getting our team to enjoy being at practices and
getting the most out of them.”

The TU Volleyball won their second-straight CAA Championship over the weekend. (Photo
by Nick Sibol).

Back home on the TU campus, the Tigers volleyball team won its second straight CAA Volleyball Championship, defeating Northeastern 3-0 on
Saturday afternoon at SECU Arena. TU earned the finals berth by defeating Charleston
in three-straight sets on Friday.

The Tigers finish the season undefeated at 6-0, and have won 18-19 sets they played
during the shortened spring season.

Freshman outside hitter Nina Cajic was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, while Kristin Spengler and Lydia Wiers also made the All-Tournament team.

Along with earning All-Tournament honors, four Tigers earned All-CAA honors for their
work during the season. Freshman Cajic was selected to both the First Team All-CAA
and a spot on the All-Rookie Team. Wiers and junior Emily Jarome were selected Second Team All-CAA while freshman Aayinde Smith was named All-Rookie.

With the win, the Tigers have earned a trip to its second-straight NCAA Tournament,
where they will take on Dayton in the first round April 14 at Omaha, Neb. The winner
will then play the next day against No. 6 seed Washington.

Towson and the Flyers will meet for the fourth time in program history. Dayton has
won the previous three matches. The April 14 showdown will be the first meeting between
the teams since the 2008 season. It will be the first neutral site meeting between
Towson and Dayton.

This press release was produced by Towson University. The views expressed here are the author’s own.