Charlotte, N.C. - Queens University of Charlotte men's and women's swim teams are poised to take the national stage by storm on March 11-14, 2015, as the teams compete in Indianapolis, Ind., for the NCAA Division II Swimming and Diving Championships.

The Royals sit second, for both the men and women, behind top in the nation Drury. Drury returns to the NCAAs as the reigning champions, taking ten in a row with their men's team and six of the last eight for the women. Although Drury is favored, Queens stands as one of the best chances to put a new winner on the board.

Queens heads to nationals with 12 qualifying swimmers on the women's side and 11 swimmers on the men. The team collectively holds the top seed in 17 events with 10 coming in on the men's side and seven on the women's.

"The coaching staff has been impressed with the focus on details and leadership throughout the 23 going to Indiana," said Head Coach Jeff Dugdale. "The support from the university, alumni, friends and family has been overwhelmingly positive. We feel the support and look forward to taking advantage of the opportunity provide in 10 days."

For the men, Alex Menke starts the week off with the 1000 Freestyle posted at second with a 9:07.83. Menke heads into the 500 Freestyle with a 15th-overall ranking and a 4:28.18 time.

Nicholas Arakelian joins Menke in the 1000 Freestyle landing at 5th for the event. He takes the front spot in the 400 Individual Medley with a five second spacing and a NCAA record time of 3:46.15. In the 500 Freestyle, N. Arakelian has again positioned himself for success as the top performer in the event with a 4:20.49.

N. Arakelian closes out his weekend with the mile swim. Holding the top spot in the 1650 Freestyle, he sits with a six second difference between himself and the competition. Menke joins him in the race, seated at No. 3 with a 5:18.32.

Matthew Josa is the athlete to beat in three events taking the top spot in the 200 Individual Medley, the 100 Butterfly, and the 200 Butterfly. He would find a top three ranking in two more events seeing second place seeding in the 200 Freestyle and a third place seeding in the 200 Backstroke.

Ben Taylor joins Josa in the 200 Individual Medley as the 14th cut for the event with a 1:48.85 time.

As the lone qualified Queens competitor in the men's 50 freestyle, Niclas Eriksson comes-in at the 10th-ranked spot with a 20.13 time with a narrow spacing between him and his competition to beat. Eriksson moves into the No. 3 spot for the 100 Breaststroke. He holds a 53.45 while teammate William Hicks posts at 11th in the event with a 54.28. Eriksson concludes with the second overall placement in the 200 Breaststroke with a 1:55.97 finish.

John Suther's performance in the 100 Backstroke puts him as 14th in the meet and the lone Queens athlete with a time of 48.75.

For the relays, the men come favored for four events, holding the top spot in the 200 Medley, 200 Freestyle, 400 Medley, and 800 Freestyle. They rank fifth in the 400 Freestyle Relay.

On the women's side, Queens looks to benefit from three swimmers gracing the top 15 in the 1000 Freestyle. Kathryn Johnston takes the lead for the Royals with an 8th-place rank and a 10:07.67 time. Meridith Boudreaux and McKenzie Stevens follow with a 10^th and 15^th ranking, respectfully.

In one of three first place spots, Caroline Arakelian joins the 200 Individual Medley with the top time of 2:00.21. She also found her way to the top of the 200 Backstroke taking a 1.55.23 for the cut.

C. Arakelian and Patricia Castro-Ortega look to take a 1-2 finish in the 400 Individual Medley as they stand three seconds ahead of the pool. C. Arakelian has the upper hand coming into the meet with a 4:13.20 as Castro-Ortega hangs close behind with a 4:13.59.

Castro-Ortega did find her own top seeding in the 200 Freestyle with a 1:46.58 finish. Three more Royals join her for the event as C. Arakelian, Lillian Gordy, and McKenzie Stevens took spots eight through ten, respectfully.

Again joined by teammates, Castro-Ortega found the top spot in the 500 Freestyle with a 4:45.89. C. Arakelian jumps into the rankings at the fifth overall seed with Gordy to follow at eight. Johnston pushed her way into the lineup with a 14^th overall ranking.

Coming in with a bronze placement, Castro-Ortega holds the 3^rd-ranked spot in the 100 Freestyle followed by Lillian Gordy who qualified for seventh.

Hannah Peiffer joins C. Arakelian in the 200 Individual Medley making the cut at 12th with a 2:03.47 swim. Peiffer would take the lead for the Royals in the 100 Butterfly with a second overall placement and a 53.64 before heading into the 100 Backstroke ranked-5th with her 54.49 time. She will take-on the 200 Butterfly as the top athlete, taking the No. 1 spot with a 1:58.32. Stevens joins her in the 200 Butterfly in the 10th-spot and a 2:02.72 time.

Lara Marshall stands alone in the 50 Freestyle for the Royals as she places 15th on the national stage going in with a 23.36 time. She would join Peiffer in the 100 Butterfly starting off in the No. 9 position with a 54.78.
Taking on the mile swim, Johnston joins the meet with the 10th best time, finishing with a 17.00.95.

All five women's relay teams found their way into the top three as both the 800 Freestyle and the 400 Freestyle start-off as No. 1. The team placed as the second seed in both the 200 Freestyle and the 400 Medley in addition to qualifying as the No. 3 in the 200 Medley.