Courtesy of Sean Elliot
If you haven’t been paying attention to the Conn College pool lately, now might be a good time to start.
The Connecticut College men’s swimming and diving team wrapped up the 2025-2026 regular season with a 8-1 dual meet record, finished 4th in the NESCAC, ranked 18th in the entire country among NCAA Division III programs, and sent multiple swimmers to both the NESCAC Championships and the NCAA Division III Championship in Indianapolis. For a program that a lot of people on campus might not think twice about, this season was kind of a big deal.
The Camels ran through their dual meet schedule like it was nothing, beating Middlebury, Amherst, Coast Guard, Bowdoin, Williams, Colby, Wesleyan, and Wheaton along the way. The closest call came against Williams on January 17th, where Conn edged out a narrow 150-147 win. This was the first NESCAC meet Williams had lost since 2018. Every other meet wasn’t particularly close – the team beat Wesleyan 211-80 and crushed Middlebury 213-71 in the season opener back in November. Those kinds of margins don’t happen by accident.
A Roster Full of Standouts
Carrick Shea ‘28 has been the most dominant swimmer on the men’s side this year. He posted a 53.04 in the 100 breaststroke at the NESCAC Championships and backed it up with a 1:47.09 in the 200 IM at the NCAA Division III Championship. Shea capped the season by winning the 200 breaststroke at NCAAs with a 1:54:45, making him the national champion.
Right there with him in the breaststroke is Julian Carlson ‘29, who earned first team All-American honors in the 200 breaststroke at the NCAA D3 Championship, clocking a 1:58:54. Together Shea and Carlson give Conn one of the most formidable breaststroke duos in D3.
Evan Lyons ‘27 has been the team’s distance powerhouse. He swam a 4:28.50 in the 500 freestyle at the NCAA Championship – the fastest time on the team at that event – and also clocked a 9:10.55 in the 1000 free at NESCACs, tying Shea for the team’s top single-event score. Lyons also competed in the 400 IM, posting a 3:57.42. He’s been a workhorse all season.
Aiden Miller ‘27 has been equally impressive in the freestyle sprints and mid-distance events. He swam a 45.69 in the 100 free at NESCACs and a 1:38.81 in the 200 free at the NCAA Championship.
Fellow sophomore Jack Mattison-Gulotta ‘28 topped the team in the 200 butterfly with a 1:49.40 at NESCACs, and freshman Campbell Noel – one of the most exciting newcomers on the roster – finished 4th in the 1000 free at NESCACs with a 9:16.85.
Not to be overlooked: Sophomore Nick Holovacs added depth across the sprint events and butterfly, including a 20.97 in the 50 free and a 49.54 in the 100 fly at NESCACs, while Junior Ryan Karaca gave valuable points to the team with his outstanding 4:00:09 400 IM and spectacular 1:50.70 200 Backstroke at NESCACs. These two swimmers’ performances carried special weight, as both had battled injuries early in the season. Watching them push through those physical setbacks and compete at a high level provided an undeniable boost to team morale and leadership ability for the younger swimmers.
The 3-man Diving Team
While the swimmers have grabbed most of the headlines this season, the Camels’ three-man diving squad has been a quiet but important part of the team’s overall effort. In a sport where diving points can swing dual meet outcomes, having bodies on the boards matters — and Connecticut College has three of them.
Cam Bizjak ‘27 from Willoughby, Ohio, is the team’s most experienced diver and served as the anchor of the unit throughout the season. The junior competed at the NESCAC Championships in Waterville, Maine, placing 4th in both the 1 meter and 3 meter dives, contributing points that helped the Camels to their 1,077-point total.
Landon Luzak ‘28 from Virginia Beach, Virginia, had a standout championship meet, earning two finals appearances. He qualified for both the 1M and 3M diving finals, finishing 8th on 1M and 7th on 3M. His 3M prelim score of 354.55 secured him a spot in the evening final for the second consecutive day, an impressive feat for a sophomore. Luzak was one of three Connecticut College divers to reach the finals alongside teammates Cam Bizjak and Lelan Jacheo, who finished 4th and 11th on both boards respectively.
Lelan Jacheo ‘29 from West Haven, Connecticut, had one of the more unique stories on the roster this year. A freshman who came in ready to swim, Jacheo made the switch to diving early in the season and quickly turned it into a strength. He placed 11th in the 1-meter dive at the NESCAC Championships, a standout result for a first-year diver competing on one of Division III’
Coach Benvenuti and 24 Years of Building Something Real
This season doesn’t happen without head coach Marc Benvenuti, who is entering his 24th year leading the Connecticut College aquatics program. That’s a long time, and the results speak for themselves. The men’s program has finished in the national top 25 in each of the past six seasons. The program record is a 12th-place finish at the 2014 NCAA Championship, and while this year’s squad didn’t quite reach that height, a 15th-place national ranking is nothing to scoff at.
Benvenuti himself was a five-time All-American swimmer at Tufts University and later coached at Princeton before coming to New London. Benveneuti has also been recognized as NESCAC Coach of the Year 6 times. The coaching staff includes assistant coach Finn Conaway, who also serves as the recruiting coordinator. Based on the freshmen who showed up this year, that recruiting pipeline looks healthy.
Lyons has had the privilege to be coached by Marc for the past 3 years, saying that “Coach consistently prepares us throughout the season to be at our best when it matters most, from NESCACs to Nationals. From early-season training to the final taper, everything is intentional and strategically geared toward helping us peak at the right time”.
A Young Team With a Bright Future
What makes this season especially exciting is just how young this team is. The 27-man roster includes 7 freshmen and 8 sophomores, meaning more than half the squad is underclassmen. Only one senior – Matthew Morris ‘27 from Alexandria, Virginia – is graduating this spring. The core of this team, including Shea, Mattison-Gulotta ‘28, Brendan Guiliano ‘27, David Slowinski ‘28, Cooper Voss ‘27, and Vrishak Duriseti ‘27, will all be back next year. However, the 4-year legacy that Morris brought to Conn swimming will never be replaced.
It’s also worth noting that the incoming class already made an impression. Dawson Rice ‘29 from Wilbraham, Massachusetts led the team in the 100 backstroke with a 50.19 at NESCACs. Rowan Karaca ‘29 from Wayland, Massachusetts had season bests on almost all events, even winning his 50 free heat with a 22.22. Alex Pesek ‘29 from Euclid, Ohio also surprised the stands with a 1:52.18 in the 200 backstroke. These are just examples of a deep recruiting class that should only get better with experience.
What makes all of this even more impressive is the context surrounding it. Heading into this season, the program had to absorb the losses of three strong leaders and standout swimmers from the previous graduating class — including Justin Finkel ‘25, whose departure led more than a few rival teams to pencil in an easy win against Conn. On top of that, two swimmers stepped away from the team during this season. Far from folding, the Camels answered every doubt. The rest of the conference quickly learned that this program is bigger than any one swimmer, and next year’s squad — with this year’s core fully intact and a promising recruiting class on the way — should only reinforce that message.
One of the sophomores on the team, Stepan Ignatiev ‘28, echoed that optimism when reflecting on the season. “The team improved tremendously across the board, and a lot of that credit goes to our freshmen and their incredible swims at championships,” he said. “The rest of the guys stepped up too — we saw huge improvements both individually and as a team. That’s just what this program does. We’ll be graduating one of our best swimmers and one of our strongest leaders this spring, but the good news is he’s the only one we’re losing. The class of ‘29 is only going to get more comfortable with our system, the new recruits are promising, and we know what we need to do to avoid the same setbacks we faced this year. Next year is going to be a great one.”
One of the newcomers this year, Lelan Jacheo ‘29, turned to diving at the beginning of the season. “It was really great to be a part of the team this year. I came here ready to swim and I ended up becoming a diver, which was a big adjustment for me. The whole team was super supportive about it while I was learning the basics. It was very rewarding to help move the needle in our dual meet vs. Williams College in January, and at NESCAC Championships where I placed 11th in the 1 meter dive. I definitely feel like I grew as an athlete and it was an exciting challenge to overcome. I’m looking forward to getting back on the diving board next season”.
What It All Means
Connecticut College competes in one of the most competitive Division III conferences in the country. The NESCAC regularly produces nationally ranked programs and has multiple teams placing in the top 10 at NCAAs. Finishing 4th in that conference while going almost undefeated in dual meets – including a win over Williams, which is always a tough out – is genuinely impressive.
Assistant Coach Finn Conaway also has an optimistic tone towards the upcoming season. “We had a fantastic season, but I think everyone is almost even more excited about what we can do next year. We have a really special group of returners who all have a lot of fire in them. I’m excited to see what these guys can do.”
For students walking past the Lott Natatorium without a second thought, consider this a reminder that some of your classmates are competing at a genuinely high national level. The Camel men’s swim team had one of the best seasons in recent program history, and most of them are sticking around. Next year might be even better.
