New Paltz, NY — The State University of New York at New Paltz swimming team will travel to Ewing, NJ on Friday to participate in The College of New Jersey Invitational, the annual weekend mid-season meet held by the Lions.
The meet will be held from the first preliminary round on Friday afternoon at 1 p.m. and will proceed until the 3 p.m. finals start on Sunday.
"I've been looking forward to this [meet] ever since we went on break really," said Hawks freshman Korey Barber. "It's been in the back of my mind. I've been preparing for it, hoping for the best swims and I think most of us have been too. This is a big meet for us and we're going to hopefully perform."
SUNY New Paltz has been a participant in the invite in each of the last three seasons; the women's side placed third among six teams while the men placed fourth out of fifth in the 2019 event. In the past, Hawks swimmers have had some of their best early season performances at the Lions' Aquatic Center.
Gallery: (12-2-2021) Swimming Practice TCNJ Meet Preview
"I am looking forward to watching our swimmers get their first championship styled meet in over a year and a half," said SUNY New Paltz coach Matthew Distler. "This invite always brings out fast swims, and I have the swimmers wear tech suits to add to that championship feel."
The teams came into the meet after two tough losses at Vassar two weeks ago on Nov. 19. The men's team lost 173-94 while the women's team fell 117-90. There were, however, standout individual performances throughout the day, including historic performances by freshman Alexandra Kassian and junior Kelly Donlevy. Kassian's 1:02.44 100-yard backstroke time entered the top-20 in program history, while Donlevy set a top-12 all-time result in the 100-yard butterfly, touching at 1:00.58. Kassian also won the 200-yard breaststroke, her fourth individual win between the Vassar dual meet and the Hartwick/Oneonta Tri-Meet the previous week.
The men's team also had standout performances from its freshmen class; Luke Hoyt (1:05.12) and Xavier Calderon (1:05.9) set collegiate personal bests in the 100-yard breaststroke, and Barber's 57.34 was his best in the 100-yard freestyle. 
"I have really enjoyed the team's overall attitude when it comes to meets and practice," Distler said. "Both our men and women bring great enthusiasm to the deck every day and it has made coaching a blast this fall."
The invite will be SUNY New Paltz's final competitive action of 2021. It will not return to the pool until Jan. 12, when Pace University travels to the Eliting Pool for the team's first home meet of the season.
"We have a full month off from coached workouts following this meet, so it will be a great time for individual and team accountability," Distler said of the upcoming break. "Our captains and upperclassmen will help lead us through the break by organizing workouts, getting the team together for events, and pushing everyone to make gains in the weight room.
"When we return to campus on Jan. 2, we will hit the ground running as we work towards our SUNYAC goals."
The College of New Jersey Invitational is set to begin on Friday, with the preliminary round commencing at 1 p.m. and the finals at 7 p.m.
TCNJ Meet Preview featuring Korey Barber & Kaylee Gallagher
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