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MANSFIELD, Texas, March 17. THE NCAA Division II Swimming and Diving Championships came to a close with an epic battle in the women's meet coming down to the wire, while the Drury men continued their reign atop the standings.
The Wayne State women ended three years of heartache as the perennial runner-up to Drury with a one-point, 497-496, triumph over Drury this year. UC San Diego (451.5) also made a run at the title, while Tampa (222) and Grand Canyon (218) finished fourth and fifth.
Wayne State Women's Celebration
Drury won its eighth consecutive men's title with 473 points. UC San Diego placed second with 400 points, while Florida Southern took third with 316.5 points. Incarnate Word (315.5) and Wingate (305) claimed fourth and fifth.
Wayne State's Andrey Seryy shot down another NCAA DII record, this time with a 42.61 in the men's 100 free. That swim bested his 42.91 set a year ago. Drury's Vladimir Sidorkin took home second in 43.28, while Ouachita's Marcus Schlesinger finished third in 44.08.
Florida Southern's Jeffrey Halfacre hit the wall in 1:43.41 to set the men's 200 back NCAA DII record. That performance erased the 1:44.89 set by Wayne State's Sean Smith in 2009. Drury's Daniel Swietlicki finished second in 1:46.52, while Florida Southern's Luis Rojas placed third in 1:46.79.
GCU's Eetu Karvonen snapped the NCAA DII record in the men's 200 breast with a 1:56.11. That time smashed the 1:57.19 set by UC San Diego's Nicholas Korth in 2011. Incarnate Word's Thiago Parravicini took second in 1:56.15, also under the record. Korth wound up third in 1:57.45.
Drury's Erin Dolan started off the night with a 16:33.00 to win the women's 1650 free, while West Chester's Kassandra McNichols took second in 16:48.64. Nova Southeastern's Erin Black earned third in 16:51.26. Wingate's Iaroslav Denysenko clinched the men's 1650 freestyle title with a 15:13.74, while Drury's Ryan Arabejo took second in 15:19.41. UC San Diego's Matthew Herman finished third in 15:21.02.
California Pennsylvania's Melissa Gates just missed the NCAA DII record in the women's 100 free with a 49.34. That swim came up short of Loni Burton's 2005 time of 49.33 for Cal State Bakersfield. Incarnate Word's Tamiris Nascimento finished second in 49.76, while Wayne State's Gloria Martinez Perez touched third in 50.27.
Wayne State's Ana Azambuja captured the women's 200 back title in 1:57.08, while UC San Diego's Alexandra Henley earned second in 1:57.58. Southern Connecticut's Amanda Thomas picked up third-place honors in 1:58.19.
UC San Diego's Emily Adamczyk topped the women's 200 breast in 2:13.18. Drury's Ekaterina Alyabyeva (2:14.87) and GVSU's Lauren Dorsey (2:14.95) rounded out the top three.
St Cloud's Christopher White claimed the men's three-meter diving title with an NCAA DII record tally of 581.65 points. Incarnate Word's Justin McDonald (574.25) and Clarion's Heath Calhoun (561.30) finished second and third.
Drury's Tinsley Andrews, Ekaterina Alyayeva, Tiffany Bell and Wai Ting Yu captured the women's 400 free relay in 3:21.97. UCSD (3:23.42) and Wayne State (3:23.51) completed the top three. Drury's Carlos Viveros, Igor Kowal, Olexandr Padalkin and Vladimir Sidorkin topped the NCAA DII record in the men's 400 free relay with a 2:56.42. GCU (2:57.39) and Florida Southern (2:58.13) placed second and third.
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