During their four years as a part of the State University of New York at New Paltz swimming program, the Hawks senior class of Thomas Bartnikowski, Tessa Griger, Lindsay Kranitz, Leo Litovsky and Nolan West helped the program to six top-four team standings at the SUNYAC Championship meet.

Despite their final season coming to a premature end due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 senior class made their imprint on the program, their teammates they competed with, along with coach Matt Distler who spent two seasons with them.

Distler talked about each of his graduating seniors and what they brought to the program. Read more on each individual below:

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Thomas Bartnikowski
Flushing, NY
 
In his three seasons, Bartnikowski improved by leaps and bounds throughout his career of 30-plus meets, but saw the largest jump his final year, recording an impressive five personal bests in the 100-yard freestyle (51.46), 200 freestyle ( 1:57.57), 100 breaststroke (1:14.15), 50 butterfly (26.24), and 100 butterfly (55.36)  in his final season as part of the Hawks swim program.
 
"Tom always brought a smile and positive attitude to the deck, day in and day out, regardless of the circumstances," said SUNY New Paltz coach Matt Distler. "Tom's easy-going attitude belied his true passion for our program, and his teammates. In what will now be his final season, Tom suffered a foot injury in the final month that would've discouraged many, but Tom continued to grind it out with a smile, all while pushing his teammates to be better and was able to finish his career on a high note. We will sorely miss his presence on deck, and his commitment to our family."
 
Bartnikowski was also a contributor in multiple meets during his time with the Hawks, swimming his way to second place finishes during the 2017-18 campaign in the 100 freestyle against SUNY Purchase and Vassar College shortly after. In the 2018-19 season, Bartnikowski also added another second-place finish in the 200-butterfly against Hamilton. He rounded out his final season grabbing second place finishes in the 100-breaststroke against Western Connecticut and the 200-butterfly against Adelphi during what ended as his final season in 2019-20.
 
Bartnikowski earned a spot on the SUNYAC Commissioner's Academic Honor-Roll in his final season and will graduate this spring with a degree in Biology.


Tessa Griger
Cooperstown, NY

Griger made an impact during her first season with SUNY New Paltz. She boasted two second-place finishes in 100-butterfly and 100-backstroke against SUNY Purchase and Hartwick College, respectively, and in her first SUNYAC Championship meet in 2018, she just missed a spot in the top-10, finishing 11th with a time of 1:02.68 in the 100-backstroke.

The following season, Griger scored a win in the 200-backstroke versus SUNY Cortland with a time of 2:17.11. She secured a set of second-place finishes against Ramapo College in the 100 and 200-backstroke and notched another pair of podium finishes after landing in second place in the 100 backstroke and 50-butterfly against Adelphi. Griger stepped up at the SUNYAC Championships, setting a new personal best in the 100-yard butterfly to go along with two seventh place finishes in the 100-and 200-backstroke.

"Tessa leaves this program with a legacy of quiet determination, unmatched consistency, versatility and leadership by example in and out of the pool," Distler said. "An excellent student-athlete in every sense, Tessa excelled at New Paltz in the classroom and in the pool. She always pushed herself to be better than she was the day before, and always put in a consistent effort. I will miss Tessa's quiet power, and her ability to put up with my sideline antics."

Griger rounded out her last season by helping the Hawks to a win in the 200 individual medley relay against Western Connecticut, while also grabbing second place against Hartwick in the 50-freestyle and a third place finish at the same meet in the 100 butterfly. Griger added two more third place finishes in the 200-backstroke against Cortland and Oneonta, respectively, and once again in the 200-butterfly against the Red Dragons. She officially swam the last races of her career at the 2020 SUNYAC Championships and ended with a sixth-place finish in the 100 backstroke, 10th place in the 200 butterfly, and 11th place in the 100-butterfly. She also found herself setting new personal bests in five events, including the 50 freestyle (26.28), 50-backstroke (27.41), 100-backstroke (1:00.96), 200 backstroke (2:12.75) and 200-butterfly (2:26.14).

Griger will graduate with a degree in Psychology.


Lindsay Kranitz
Long Beach, NY
 
Finishing up the final season of her career last winter, Kranitz more than proved to Distler that she was a "fierce competitor," and always determined to become one of the best breaststrokers in the SUNYAC.
 
Kranitz showed she was more than up to the challenge of becoming a talented college swimmer from her first season with the Hawks, tallying two wins in the 100-breaststroke and 200-breaststroke against Hartwick and Hamilton, respectively. She placed second in the same two events in a dual meet against the Hawks (200 breaststroke) and at the Franklin and Marshall February Quad Meet (100 breaststroke). Kranitz finished out the season with a sixth-place finish at the SUNYAC Championship in the 100-breaststroke.
 
Kranitz improved upon her first season as she entered her sophomore campaign, earning Second Team All-SUNYAC honors after a resounding performance at the SUNYAC Championships. She placed third in the 100-breaststroke with a time of 1:07.50, while adding a fifth-place spot in the 200-breaststroke after clocking in at 2:28.69. Kranitz was also a part of SUNY New Paltz's second-place 200-medley relay (1:47.32) and third-place 400-medley relay (3:56.76) team. 
 
During the season she added more first place finishes under her belt in both the 100 and 200 breaststroke against Ramapo, as well as another pair in the 50 and 100 breaststroke against Adelphi, and thrice more by the end of the season in the 100 breaststroke against Oneonta, Hamilton and Hartwick, respectively.
 
"Lindsay showed immense growth during her time at New Paltz, as she rose to the top of the conference, and became a team leader who made personal sacrifices to put our team in a better position," Distler added. "Her efforts during practice could be called herculean at times, and as a coach you could tell when Lindsay was in her "zone". I will miss those days, and I will miss her fierce dedication to our program."
 
Kranitz finished her final season with another collection of accolades, recording three personal bests in the 500-freestyle (5:33.34), 50-breaststroke 0(:30.92) and 200-breaststroke (2:26.80). Kranitz saw herself stand atop the podium in multiple meets, handily winning in the 200-breaststroke in meets against Hartwick, Vassar and Franklin & Marshall, the 100-freestyle against Adelphi and the 100-breaststroke against the Brewers and Diplomats.
 
Kranitz earned a second place standing in the 100-breaststroke in meets against Hartwick, Hamilton and Cortland, while also garnering a second-and third-place finish against the Continentals in the 500 and 50-freestyle, respectively. She added additional second-place standings in the 200-breaststroke in meets against both Red Dragon programs, and 200-individual medley against Western Connecticut.
 
She ended the 2019-20 season and her 30th career race with the Hawks at the SUNYAC Championships, placing 16th in the 500-freestyle, fourth in the 200-breaststroke, and fourth in the 100-breaststroke.
 
Kranitz will graduate with a degree in Digital Media Management.


Leo Litovsky
Brooklyn, NY
 
Litovsky transferred to SUNY New Paltz ahead of the 2019-20 season from the College of Staten Island and spent one season swimming for the Hawks. In his lone season with the team he competed in about 10 meets for the SUNY New Paltz. He touched the podium with a third-place finish against Western Connecticut in the 200 freestyle and added a top-10 finish in the 200 breaststroke, placing seventh at the Geneseo Invitational. He set five new personal bests in what was his only and final season as a Hawk, recording PR's in the 50 freestyle (23.59), 100 freestyle (53.79), 50 breaststroke (29.61), 100 breaststroke (1:03.97), and 200 breaststroke (2:22.79).
 
Before even stepping onto campus, Litovsky boasted a CUNYAC swim championship bronze medal in the 1,650 freestyle (19:24.79), while in the same meet, earned himself finishes of  fifth place in the 500 freestyle (5:37.25) and seventh place in the 200 freestyle (2:01.93) in the 2018-19 season. The outing helped Litovsky swim his way to the CSI Swim Rookie of the Year honors.
 
Despite his short stint with the program, he was the consummate teammate and as Distler said, "made a tremendous impact on the program."
 
"His energy, attitude, and dedication have been infectious since his first day on campus," Distler said. "Leo is always there with an inspirational quip during tough sets, or a comedic break when the mood needs lightening. A student of the game, Leo is constantly looking to learn more about the sport and looking for ways to better himself and those around him. Leo was a great captain for our program, and I will miss his humor and inquisitiveness both in and out of the pool."
 
Litovsky will graduate with a degree in Mechanical Engineering.


Nolan West
Springville, NY
 
West made sure his presence was noted on the Hawks swimming program from the get-go, ending his first season with a trip to the All-SUNYAC Second-Team after a solid performance at his first SUNYAC Championship meet where he set a PR in the 500 freestyle. He also earned a first-place finish in the 100 freestyle against SUNY Purchase earlier in the year.
 
West saw himself become a major contributor the following season. During a big 2019 SUNYAC Championship meet, West helped SUNY New Paltz propel its way to a fifth-place standing in the 400 individual medley relay, a third-place finish in the 300 freestyle relay, and a fourth-place finish in the 200 individual medley. During that same season, he stayed on the podium for multiple meets, securing wins in the 50-freestyle three times, to go along with two second-place performances in the 200 and 100 freestyle and a third-place finish in the latter event. He also set personal best times that season in the 50 freestyle, touching in 22.16 seconds in a dual meet against SUNY Cortland, and clocked in with a time of 48.25 in the 100 freestyle at the conference championship meet.
 
"Nolan's personal and athletic growth over his career here has been a joy to watch," Distler said. "A fiery competitor and dedicated teammate, Nolan always pushed the limits of himself and those around him. His finest moments came when our team needed them most, whether it was an incredible swim, or a powerful moment of leadership and team-first attitude. I will miss Nolan's competitiveness at practice, and his thirst for knowledge at all times. We will miss his leadership, and dedication to this program."
 
In the 2019-20 campaign in what would be his last season, West continued gracing the podium with second place finishes in the 100-backstroke in two meets, 50 freestyle in another two, and the 100 freestyle in one more. He finished individually at 12th place at the SUNYAC Conference meet in the 100-breaststroke.
 
West will graduate with a degree in Electrical Engineering.

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