CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Queens swimming's lengthy, strenuous season came to an end with the men's team claiming a victory in the National Invitational Championship. The men's side scored 674 points en route to the milestone victory, finishing ahead of Tennessee, who place second with 562, and Ohio State who took third with 474.5 points. The women's team finished the weekend in 10th place with 321 points.

The final night of the event of the championship began with the 100 IM, which saw Alex Bauch claim a fifth-place finish with a time of 49.16. Tova Andersson claimed points on the women's side, taking ninth place at 56.09.

Andreas Marz dashed to a fourth-place finish in the 200 back, coming in at 1:44.02, further contributing to Queens' victory.

Matej Dusa continued his dominance in the freestyle events, touching the wall first in the 100 freestyle at 42.56, which also set a new meet record. Teammate Daniel Meszaros followed right behind him in second place at 42.97.

Jan Delkeskamp (1:59.13) and Balaza Berecz (1:59.37) took ninth and 10th, respectively, in the 200 breaststroke.

Alex Kunert earned the first top-finish for the Royals on the evening, touching the wall at 1:43.31 to take first place in the 200 butterfly, setting a new meet record. Yannick Plasil joined the scoring party as well, claiming fourth place with a time of 1:45.32.

To continue the strong night, the quartet of Matej Dusa, Daniel Meszaros, Alex Kunert, and Conner Wang set a new record in the 400 freestyle relay, posting a time of 2:52.84. 

Danielle Melilli, Monica Gumina, Ryley Heck, and Caroline Lawrence posted a second-place time of 3:19.09.

With his stellar performance throughout the championship, which included seven first-place finishes (four in individual events) and contributing to four broken records, Alexander Bauch was named the swimmer of the meet.

COACH'S WORDS
"I could not think of a better finish to an amazing year" said head coach Jeff Dugdale. "The support has been amazing in our transition to Division I. This Championship belongs to the faculty and staff that drive excellence day in and day out."

TOP-THREE FINISHERS
WOMEN'S 1650 FREESTYLE - Sophia Lange (1st, 16:15.40)
WOMEN'S 1000 FREESTYLE - Sophia Lange (1st, 9:48.89)
MEN'S 100 FREESTYLE - Matej Dusa (1st, 42.56)
MEN'S 100 FREESTYLE - Daniel Meszaros (2nd, 42.97)
MEN'S 200 BUTTERFLY - Alex Kunert (1st, 1:43.31)
MEN'S 400 FREESTYLE RELAY - Matej Dusa, Daniel Meszaros, Alex Kunert, Conner Wang (1st, 2:52.84)
WOMEN'S 400 FREESTYLE RELAY - Danielle Melilli, Monica Gumina, Ryley Heck, Caroline Lawrence (1st, 3:19.09)

MEN'S FINAL TEAM SCORES
1. Queens - 674
2 Tennessee - 562 
3. Ohio State - 474.5

WOMEN'S FINAL TEAM SCORES
1. Tennessee - 566
2. Akron - 455.5 
3. Ohio State - 450

10. Queens - 321