On Saturday, Oct. 21, the Rowan men’s swimming team met with Stevens Institute of Technology at Tony Lisa Natatorium in Glassboro for their inaugural meet of the season. The Profs defeated the Ducks 172-90 to jump out to a 1-0 start.
Seniors Paul Riter and Jack Watson both finished first in three separate events: the 100-yard freestyle, 100-yard backstroke, and the 200-yard relay. Danny Dubij also came in first in the 100-yard backstroke, edging out the second place finisher by .18 milliseconds.
“I’ve been trying to go as fast as I can, but hold the pace,” Dubij said. “I didn’t even see the kid next to me. I was just more focused on my lane and just finishing to the wall as fast as I could.”
Nagging injuries caused Dubij to miss some time last season, and the senior is easing his way back into things.
“I had a misstep last year, so I’m still in the process of getting back into shape, where I
was two years ago,” Dubij said. “I got cleared to swim for the first time in June or July. I was
going through PT, and I’ve just been slowly increasing my volume and load inside the water and
it’s been going smoothly for the most part. I have a few hiccups ever-so-often, but for the most
part we’ve been doing everything we can.”
For Head Coach Brad Bowser, the main goal he is focused on for this season comes outside of the water.
“The biggest thing for this year going into it is we lost so much from COVID,” Bowser said. “A season got canceled on us, and it was going to be our best year possibly that we could have ever had at this school. Barely being able to train together, losing that common bond amongst all the classes, so they were built around each other’s class and not their team. It starts as one program and builds into each of the individual aspects.”
The Profs have three captains for the 2023-24 season; Jack Watson, Alex Volin, and Danny Dubij. They are all seniors and were all on the team during COVID in 2020.
Coach Bowser’s plan is to help them learn how to be the go-to guys for anyone on the team. He is also looking at his other seniors Paul Riter and Michael Fracchiolla to be individuals that can lead not just in the water, but outside as well.
The Profs’ next meet is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 28 versus New York University (NYU) at 1:00 p.m. EST.
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