The Rowan men’s swimming team placed second out of 10 teams in the Franklin & Marshall Invitational that took place from Nov. 21 to 23 at the Kunkel Aquatic Center in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

The meet was made up of schools within the Mid-Atlantic region, including programs from Division I, II, and III. Head coach Brad Bowser liked what he saw from his team given the competition they faced.

“I would’ve liked to have won,” said Bowser. “But I think for us to be competing against Division I and Division II schools, I think we performed at a high level given that those schools offer scholarship money for people.”

The weekend was highlighted by a stellar performance from Jack Watson. The fifth-year placed first in the 200 IM on Day 1 of the invitational, setting a school record for that particular event in the process (1:50.31). Watson also won the 100 Back (47.63) and led off the 800 Free Relay that came in first (6:51.83).

Senior Alex Volin also put together a standout weekend. Volin was part of the winning 800 Free Relay team and also placed first in the 200 Butterfly (1.50:01). In addition, Volin was the previous owner of the school record for the 200 IM before Watson broke it on Friday.

There are a lot of individuals who have experienced success this season, and Volin knows that will bode well for the outlook of the team as a whole moving forward.

“The season’s been great so far,” said Volin. “We won’t know how it all shakes out until February, but I think we’re building the right way right now.”

Other notable performances came from senior Tobias Cahnbley, who won the 500 Free (4:36.93). Rowan also placed highly in the 1650 Free with first place going to Gavin Danze (16:12.94) and second place going to Julian Hyunh (16:29.75).

A multi-day event like this also gives the team a chance to bond and form relationships outside of the water. Bowser touched on what the weekend meant for his team.

“It’s huge,” Bowser said. “The mid-season meet is one of the three places that we build our team. It’s a chance to get away from the academic part and be at a swim meet, be with each other for three days, whether they get closer with one another or create new relationships with all the freshmen coming in. It’s a good place for people to communicate when they normally wouldn’t.”

“It’s fantastic,” Volin added. “It’s an experience that I know that I’m not gonna be able to have for the rest of my life.”

Up next for Rowan is a trip to Johns Hopkins to face the Blue Jays on Friday, Dec. 6 at 4:00 p.m.

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