CANTON, Ga. – The SAA split up to compete in two big invitationals last week. Centre hosted the Speedo Invitational and finished third in the 11 team event. Berry took fifth and Sewanee seventh. Delta State hosted its annual Thanksgiving Invitational in Cleveland, Mississippi. Rhodes was third, finishing just behind two Division II powerhouses, while Hendrix was fourth and Millsaps seventh.
Around the SAA:
Athletes of the Week:
SWIMMER:
Daniel Snyder | Rhodes | Senior | Signal Mountain, Tenn. - had an impressive performance at the Thanksgiving Invitational, excelling in a highly competitive field. He placed 5th in the 500 freestyle with a strong time of 4:37.42 and followed that with a near personal best in the 200 freestyle, finishing in 1:42.04. Daniel saved his best effort for the mile, breaking his own SAA conference record with a B-cut qualifying time of 15:44.88. The time is the third fastest in the country this season.
DIVER:
John Beuerlein | Rhodes | Senior | Austin, Texas - had an incredible showing at the Thanksgiving Invitational, winning both the 1-meter and 3-meter diving competitions while setting personal records on both boards. He broke his own SAA conference record on the 3-meter board with a remarkable score of 567.90, demonstrating exceptional precision and consistency. On the 1-meter board, John narrowly missed breaking the conference record by just 0.05 points, finishing with an impressive score of 548.25.
Notable Performance:
Nick Fonzo (Berry) - had a great showing at the Centre-Speedo Invite this past weekend. The three day event consisted of him taking the 100 back with an NCAA B cut, a time of 8th in the country (48.52) which earned him first at the meet. He also claimed an NCAA B cut in the 200 back, breaking his own school record (1:48.72) and earning first in the event. He is now first in the SAA in all backstrokes. He led off the 800 free relay in a 1:41.50, with his time in the 200 free which is good for first in the conference. He also posted first in the conference in the 100 fly (49.48) placing second at the meet.
Brady Miller (Centre) - added two more records to his impressive freshman season in the Speedo Midseason Invite. He broke the program's 1650 freestyle best with a 15:53.81 that put him second in the A final. His time at the 1000 mark (9:35.77) also broke the program record the Versailles, Ky. native earned earlier this season. He also finished third in the 500 freestyle A final when he touched the wall in 4:37.73. Centre finished third as a team and finished ahead of two NCAA DII teams and the two other SAA teams in the meet.
Ben Anderson (Millsaps) - was strong at the Delta State Thanksgiving Invite over the weekend. He placed eighth in the 50-yard freestyle final (21.27), 22nd in the 200-yard freestyle final (1:48.84) and 12th in the 100-yard freestyle finals (46.76). He also set a time of 46.44 in the 100-yard freestyle prelims.
Andrew Olsen (Sewanee) - scored 82 points in the Centre Speedo Invitational, highlighted by a sixth-place finish in the 200 Free with a time of 1:42.81, the third-fastest in the conference. He added a 10th-place finish in the 50 Free (21.70) and a seventh-place finish in the 100 Free (46.41), which ranks as the second-best time in the conference. Olsen also competed in three relays, including a 21.51 leadoff split in the 200 Free Relay (9th place), a 45.89 split in the 400 Free Relay (8th place), and a 1:42.47 split in the 800 Free Relay (10th place).
Avery Balch (Centre) - broke the Gold & White school record in his one-meter dive win at the Speedo Midseason Invite with a score of 567.25 in the 11-dive event. He broke his second record in as many days with a 546.5 tally after 11 attempts in the three-meter dive. Centre finished third as a team and finished ahead of two NCAA DII teams and the two other SAA teams in the meet.
2024 Men’s Swimming & Diving Report Archive (AOW Swimmer/Diver)
Sept. 23 – Daniel Snyder (Rhodes)/ John Beuerlein (Rhodes)
Oct. 7 – Sam Tate (Berry)/John Beuerlein (Rhodes)
Oct. 14 – Ben Anderson (Millsaps)/Avery Balch (Centre)
Oct. 21 – Nick Fonzo (Berry)/Brandon Anderson (Centre)
Oct. 28 – Andrew Olsen (Sewanee)/Rowan Fitzsimmons (Centre)
Nov. 4 – Brady Miller (Centre)/Garrett George (Centre)
Nov. 11 – Daniel Snyder (Rhodes)/Avery Balch (Centre)
Nov. 18 – Andrew Olsen (Sewanee)/none