Meet results

Piscataway, NJ ... The College of New Jersey men's swimming and diving team fended off a talented University of Bridgeport squad to capture its sixth consecutive title at the 2012 Metropolitan Conference Championships.
 
The Lions compiled a total of 1243 points over the weekend to top the 18-team pool. Bridgeport finished in second place with 1140, while Rowan University placed third with 791.5 followed by US Merchant Marine Academy with 724.
 
TCNJ continued its dominance at the METs with consistency. In the 20 events over three days, the Lions had a swimmer in 12 of the 13 'A' finals in the individual events, competed in all five relay finals, and won both diving events.
 
Junior Michael Caputo (Staten Island, NY/Curtis) set the pace on Sunday as he put points on the board in the opening event, placing second the 1650-freestyle race. Caputo posted an NCAA provisional time, finishing in 16:14.22.
 
Senior TJ Burns (Clarks Summit, PA/Abington Heights) won the 3-meter diving event with a score of 601.30 that smashed his own school record. Burns swept the diving competition, winning the 1-meter event on Friday and was named MET Diver of the Meet.
 
A trio of swimmers qualified for the 'A' final in the 200-back as freshman Aleksander Burzynski (Colonia, NJ/St. Joseph's) led the way finishing fourth with a NCAA B-cut time of 1:52.39. Junior Andrew Smith (Basking Ridge, NJ/Morristown-Beard) was not far behind, placing fifth in 1:54.39. Freshman Matthew VanBiervliet (Hillsborough, NJ/Hillsborough) took eighth place with a time of 1:56.45.
 
Three more TCNJ caps raced in the 100-free final. Sophomore Stephen Gibson (Sewell, NJ/St. Augustine Prep) posted an NCAA provisional time of 45.85 to finish fourth. Junior Adam Schneider (Cherry Hill, NJ/Cherry Hill East) and senior Ryan Clark (Ocean City, NJ/St. Augustine Prep) finished sixth and eight in the event. Schneider recorded a time of 46.09 and Clark finished in 46.41.
 
Junior Evan Paulan (Westfield, NJ/Westfield) raced to an NCAA B-cut time of 2:06.20 to place fourth in the 200-breast.3:02.85
 
Gibson, Schneider, sophomore Philip Hawley (Easthampton, NJ/Rancocas Valley), and senior Jesse Taylor (Closter, NJ/Northern Valley) combined to place third in the final event of the meet. The Lions posted a third-place finish in the 400-free relay with an NCAA B-cut time of 3:02.85.
 
The Lions will now wait to see who qualifies for the 2012 NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships held in Indianapolis from March 21 through March 24.
 
Note: Six consecutive titles is a tremendous feat, but it's not yet the best even by program standards. From 1994 through 2002, the Lions claimed nine straight MET titles. They finished runner-up for the next four years, before resuming their dominance in 2007.