After the first day, RPI found itself in seventh place among the 13-team field—a very unfamiliar position for the Red Hawk men this season.

“I think it was a little bit of a wake-up call,” commented Head Coach Shannon O’Brien. “Usually the first day is our worst day, but I didn’t think we were going to be seventh. I thought maybe [we’d be] hanging fifth or sixth.”

“The first day is not normally our strongest day,” agreed senior Bryan Geiger. “But we were in seventh and that kind of set us back a little bit. It gave us a little shocker.”

The Red Hawks, however, did enjoy some success on the first day of competition. In the meet’s first event, the 200-yard freestyle relay, the quartet of Geiger, junior Mike Scibelli, sophomore Kevin Sheridan, and freshman Daniel Brocki set a new school record of 1:27.50 in the preliminary heat en route to a sixth-place finish in the final.

Scibelli and Sheridan were not done there; Scibelli tallied more points with a sixth-place finish in the 200-yard individual medley while Sheridan chipped in with a fourth-place finish in the 500-yard freestyle.

The one-meter diving event was also held on day one, and RPI continued its season-long domination on the boards. Junior Greg Derevianko, senior Bobby Monahon, and freshman Matt Culen finished second, fifth, and seventh, respectively.

“They’ve come up huge for us all year,” praised O’Brien of the trio.

The performance was even more rewarding for Derevianko, as his 472.75 points broke his own school record in the event and was good enough to meet an NCAA cut.

RPI came out swinging on day two of the championship. Thanks in large part to the first day’s “wake-up call” and day two’s favorable schedule of events, the Red Hawks shot up the standings into fourth place.

“We knew we had our better days to come, but [being in seventh place] still gave us some motivation,” commented Geiger.

The Toms River, N.J., native led the charge on the second day, coming in third in the 100-yard breaststroke in an NCAA provisional time of 58.74 seconds. Freshman Steven Hall picked the right time to step up, finishing right behind Geiger in fourth.

“He’s been working hard all season long,” said O’Brien of her surprising freshman. “I think he was just rested, we tapered him right, and he just swam very well.”

Scibelli and Sheridan found themselves busy on day two as they once again tallied a sixth and a fourth-place finish for RPI, respectively. Scibelli’s contribution was in the 400-yard individual medley, while Sheridan competed in the 200-yard freestyle.

The Red Hawks continued their assault on the opposition on the final day, but it was not enough to move the team any further up the leader board. “We swam fast in the morning and swam faster at night,” remarked O’Brien. “The only problem was not only did we swim faster, but everybody else swam faster too.”

RPI owned the 200-yard breaststroke, as Scibelli, Geiger, and Hall finished first, second, and fifth, respectively, in what was possibly the final race of Geiger’s swimming career.

“When I touched the wall at the end, I saw that Mike got first and I got second,” remembered Geiger. “I couldn’t have asked for a better person to get second to.”

The Red Hawks also gained major points in the final diving event of the meet—the three-meter board. Derevianko—who again broke his own school record—and Monahon finished first and third, respectively, as each made an NCAA cut. Culen also performed well, coming in sixth.

“They were just nailing everything. I was so impressed,” commended O’Brien of her divers. “I’ve never seen such good diving like that. I was like, ‘Oh my God.’”

The championship officials were also impressed as they named Diving Coach Maria Coomaraswamy-Falkenstein the Diving Coach of the Meet.

The team also enjoyed two more individual accolades, as Sheridan was named Swimmer of the Week and Derevianko was honored as Diver of the Week by the Liberty League.

In the end, RPI finished with 961 points, good enough for a second straight fourth-place finish. “We were happy with fourth,” said Geiger. “We swam well the last two days and bumped up a couple spots.”

O’Brien echoed Geiger’s sentiments, saying, “I’m definitely pleased with this year’s fourth … I’m happy because we stepped up and we swam fast, where last year we didn’t really swim as fast at night.”

With the team season officially over, five Red Hawk men wait to hear if the end of their own 2005-06 season will be postponed. Geiger, Sheridan, Derevianko, Monahon, and Culen currently wait to hear if they will be traveling to Minneapolis, Minn., in March to take part in the NCAA Championship.

Geiger and Sheridan only made provisional cuts during the season, so they most likely will not be attending the national meet. “I barely made the cut,” said Geiger. “So the chances of me actually going to the meet are probably pretty slim, but it’s nice to say I made a national B cut.”

Whether or not Geiger makes nationals, he still considers his senior season to be a resounding success. “I couldn’t have asked for a better season,” stated Geiger.

As far as the divers go, O’Brien said, “I can’t see [Derevianko] not making it. Maybe Bobby, maybe Matt, depending. They’re still practicing.”

During the off season, the Red Hawks will look to replace three seniors—Geiger, Monahon, and co-captain Rob Olivo. “Those are three huge losses for us,” lamented O’Brien. “It puts us in a little bit of a hole right now, but I think we can definitely recover from it.”

The men’s program has enjoyed a lot of success over the past few seasons, but the team is far from satisfied. “We definitely have room to improve,” declared O’Brien. “I want hardware. I want to be top three at championships, and that’s a legitimate thing we can achieve here.”