General

NEWMAC Recognizes 2023-2024 Men's Swimming and Diving Postseason Awards

WESTWOOD, Mass – MIT student-athletes Tobe Obochi (Highland Park, Ill.) and Bryce Roberts (Mill Valley, Calif.) took home Swimmer and Rookie of the Year, respectively, while Springfield College’s Christian Butler (North Haven, Conn.) earned Diver of the Year for their performances at the NEWMAC meet.

Obochi was named NEWMAC Athlete of the Year for the third consecutive year. He was a member of the first place 800-Free Relay team that set a new meet and open record with a time of 6:36.07. He also swam in the 200-Free Relay that posted the third fastest time in Division III this season, and the first place 200 Medley Relay team, which tied the NEWMAC record.  He also won his third straight 50-Free gold, with a time of 20:11, and the 100-Free with a time of 43:76.
 
Another member of the 200-Free and 200 Medley Relays, Bryce Roberts, was tabbed NEWMAC Rookie of the Year. Roberts won the 100-Butterfly with a time of 49:04, a new meet record, and the tenth fastest in Division III.  
 
Butler swept the 1-meter and 3-meter boards to earn Diver of the Year honors. He won the 3-meter with a score of 530.65, and the 1-meter with a score of 527.40.

The WPI coaching staff was voted the Swimming Coaching Staff of the Year by their peers. The Engineers took home third place at the Championships after four days of competition, finishing with 825 points. The Engineers improved on their fourth-place finish from last season, highlighted by a third-place finish in the 400-Free Relay, touching the wall in 3:03.69, the Engineers' fastest time since the 2018 NEWMAC Championships. The WPI staff is led by head coach Paul Bennett, and includes assistants Adriana Owen, Spencer Coffin, Mark Wild and Ashton Lyon.
 
Springfield won Diving Staff of the Year honors after first year Christian Butler swept the diving boards. This marks the 17th time Pete Avdoulos and his staff has won the award, and sixth-straight season that he has earned men's coach of the year recognition. The Springfield dive staff also includes Melanie Avdoulos and Cicley Dunaway.
 
In addition, the top finisher in each event earns first team All-Conference honors, while the second-place finisher earns a spot on the second team.

Team Name Institution Event
First Team All-Conference Christian Butler Springfield College 1-Meter Diving
Second Team All-Conference Alex Masiero WPI 1-Meter Diving
First Team All-Conference Aitor Arrese-Igor MIT 100 Backstroke
Second Team All-Conference Zack West MIT 100 Backstroke
First Team All-Conference Thomas Wu MIT 100 Breaststroke
Second Team All-Conference Jacob McCarran MIT 100 Breaststroke
First Team All-Conference Bryce Roberts MIT 100 Butterfly
Second Team All-Conference Noah Reice U.S. Coast Guard Academy 100 Butterfly
First Team All-Conference Tobe Obochi MIT 100 Freestyle
Second Team All-Conference Colin Twiss U.S. Coast Guard Academy 100 Freestyle
First Team All-Conference Sean Lyman U.S. Coast Guard Academy 1650 Freestyle
Second Team All-Conference John Tietjen MIT 1650 Freestyle
First Team All-Conference Zack West MIT 200 Backstroke
Second Team All-Conference Aaron Zhu MIT 200 Backstroke
First Team All-Conference Roderick Huang MIT 200 Breaststroke
Second Team All-Conference John Kaleta U.S. Coast Guard Academy 200 Breaststroke
First Team All-Conference Jason Wang MIT 200 Butterfly
Second Team All-Conference Nathan Zhu MIT 200 Butterfly
First Team All-Conference Colin Twiss U.S. Coast Guard Academy 200 Freestyle
Second Team All-Conference Jaden Luo MIT 200 Freestyle
First Team All-Conference Bryce Roberts MIT 200 Freestyle Relay
First Team All-Conference Tobe Obochi MIT 200 Freestyle Relay
First Team All-Conference Evan Liu MIT 200 Freestyle Relay
First Team All-Conference Eugene Jiang MIT 200 Freestyle Relay
Second Team All-Conference Dean Doubek WPI 200 Freestyle Relay
Second Team All-Conference Nolan Schlesssman WPI 200 Freestyle Relay
Second Team All-Conference Matt Crane WPI 200 Freestyle Relay
Second Team All-Conference Jack Brazer WPI 200 Freestyle Relay
First Team All-Conference Jaden Luo MIT 200 IM
Second Team All-Conference Jason Wang MIT 200 IM
First Team All-Conference Bryce Roberts MIT 200 Medley Relay
First Team All-Conference Jason Luo MIT 200 Medley Relay
First Team All-Conference Theo Chen MIT 200 Medley Relay
First Team All-Conference Tobe Obochi MIT 200 Medley Relay
Second Team All-Conference Jack Brazer WPI 200 Medley Relay
Second Team All-Conference Christopher Smith WPI 200 Medley Relay
Second Team All-Conference Dean Doubek WPI 200 Medley Relay
Second Team All-Conference Owen Krause WPI 200 Medley Relay
First Team All-Conference Christian Butler Springfield College 3-Meter Diving
Second Team All-Conference Alex Masiero WPI 3-Meter Diving
First Team All-Conference Eugene Jiang MIT 400 Freestyle Relay
First Team All-Conference Tobe Obochi MIT 400 Freestyle Relay
First Team All-Conference Arnold Su MIT 400 Freestyle Relay
First Team All-Conference Jaden Luo MIT 400 Freestyle Relay
Second Team All-Conference Noah Reice U.S. Coast Guard Academy 400 Freestyle Relay
Second Team All-Conference Colin Twiss U.S. Coast Guard Academy 400 Freestyle Relay
Second Team All-Conference Charles Gaines U.S. Coast Guard Academy 400 Freestyle Relay
Second Team All-Conference Jake Kim U.S. Coast Guard Academy 400 Freestyle Relay
First Team All-Conference Sean Lyman U.S. Coast Guard Academy 400 IM
Second Team All-Conference Jason Wang MIT 400 IM
First Team All-Conference Zack West MIT 400 Medley Relay
First Team All-Conference Jacob McCarran MIT 400 Medley Relay
First Team All-Conference Bryce Roberts MIT 400 Medley Relay
First Team All-Conference Tobe Obochi MIT 400 Medley Relay
Second Team All-Conference Sean Lyman U.S. Coast Guard Academy 400 Medley Relay
Second Team All-Conference John Kaleta U.S. Coast Guard Academy 400 Medley Relay
Second Team All-Conference Noah Reice U.S. Coast Guard Academy 400 Medley Relay
Second Team All-Conference Colin Twiss U.S. Coast Guard Academy 400 Medley Relay
First Team All-Conference Tobe Obochi MIT 50 Freestyle
Second Team All-Conference Eugene Jiang MIT 50 Freestyle
First Team All-Conference Colin Twiss U.S. Coast Guard Academy 500 Freestyle
Second Team All-Conference Sean Lyman U.S. Coast Guard Academy 500 Freestyle
First Team All-Conference Tobe Obochi MIT 800 Freestyle Relay
First Team All-Conference Jaden Luo MIT 800 Freestyle Relay
First Team All-Conference Brian Li MIT 800 Freestyle Relay
First Team All-Conference Eugene Jiang MIT 800 Freestyle Relay
Second Team All-Conference Sean Lyman U.S. Coast Guard Academy 800 Freestyle Relay
Second Team All-Conference Colin Twiss U.S. Coast Guard Academy 800 Freestyle Relay
Second Team All-Conference Brandon Choeung U.S. Coast Guard Academy 800 Freestyle Relay
Second Team All-Conference Noah Reice U.S. Coast Guard Academy 800 Freestyle Relay

About the NEWMAC

The NEWMAC is an association of 12 selective academic institutions: Babson College, Clark University, U.S Coast Guard Academy, Emerson College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Mount Holyoke College, Salve Regina University, Smith College, Springfield College, Wellesley College, Wheaton College, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute, that are committed to providing high quality competitive athletic opportunities for student-athletes within an educational and respectful environment that embodies the NCAA Division III Philosophy. The conference also partners with four Associate Members: Norwich University (Football), Simmons College (Rowing), SUNY Maritime College (Football), and U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (Football), while sponsoring 20 sports.