Junior Pat Fell was the men’s swimming and diving team’s lone representative at the NCAA Division III Men’s Swimming and Diving National Championships held in St. Louis March 17-20. Fell swam in the 100, 200, and 500 yard freestyle events.
After not doing as well as he hoped in the 500 freestyle event, Fell finished 16th in the preliminaries of the 200 freestyle event with a time of 1:42.68, qualifying him for the consolation final. Fell placed 12th in the finals of the 200 event with a time of 1:42.49.
His 12th place finish earned him All-American Honorable Mention honors. The top eight finishers of an event earn All-American honors, and the next eight finishers earn All-American Honorable Mentions.
While training was an important factor, Fell commented that his preparation for the National Championships was “mostly a mental thing.” Fell also shaved his head to gear up for his events.
The main goal Fell had in mind this year was to get to nationals. Next year, his ultimate goal is to finish within the top three at Nationals. He also hopes more members of the swim team will qualify for nationals and make the trip with him. Freshmen Greg Derevianko and Mike Scibelli both made good impressions this year for RPI, and the team will be counting on them to continue their strong performances next season.
“This year was a good year for me,” Fell commented. In addition to improving his times this season, Fell was the team’s leading scorer, and received UCAA Male Swimmer of the Week honors three times.
With the D-III National Championships complete, both the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams are finished for the season. The women’s team will have to deal with the graduation of All-American Meghan Hartman, but the boost of her recent victory at the women’s National Championships will surely give both teams some extra confidence going into next season.
