NEWARK, NJ – The NJIT men's swimming team celebrated its first home meet of 2014-15 with wins over visiting Manhattan and St. Francis Brooklyn in the Fleisher Athletic Center pool Saturday afternoon.
 
The meet involved the men's teams from NJIT, Manhattan, and St. Francis, plus the women's teams from Manhattan and St. Francis (NJIT does not have a women's team). The men's portion of events were scored as separate dual meets. In other words, NJIT vs. Manhattan; NJIT vs. St. Francis; and, Manhattan vs. St. Francis, even though all three teams could physically compete in the same race.
 
When the scores were tallied, NJIT came out on top against both of its opponents, defeating Manhattan 150-122 and topping St. Francis Brooklyn 193-65.
 
The top performer for the Highlanders was Scott Quirie, who broke another two school records. The freshman placed first in all four of his races, including the 400 medley relay with teammates Richard Seffrin, Collin Moore, and Anthony Czar.
 
The freshman also finished first and broke the NJIT record in the 100-yard backstroke (53.25) and the 200 yard IM (1:58.36). He also placed first in the 200-yard backstroke (1:56.08).
 
Collin Moore, also a freshman for the Highlanders, broke the school record in the 100 butterfly with a time of 52.94. Moore's new record broke a mark that had stood since 2008. He added a first-place finish in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 1:58.96.
 
NJIT swept first, second and third in two events. The first sweep being the 200-yard freestyle, where sophomore Anthony Czar finished first (1:47.03), followed by Moore (1:48.79) and sophomore Michael Sungurov (1:48.82).
 
The second Highlander sweep was the 500-yard freestyle and Czar came in first again with a time of 4:58.74, followed by Maxim Tillman (5:02.60), and Gene Tutzauer (5:14.31).
 
Junior Richard Seffrin also has a good day for the Highlanders. Along with the first-place 400 medley finish, he also took second in the 200-yard breaststroke and 200-yard IM, and third in the 100-yard breaststroke.
 
Maxim Tillman, yet another freshman standout, also finished first in the 1,000-yard freestyle with a time of 10:15.18, and Gene Tutzauer, a senior, placed third with a time of 10:45.38.
 
Other notable swimmers for NJIT were: senior Christian Giglio, who placed second in the 100-yard backstroke (54.41) and in the 200-yard backstroke (1:59.39); freshman Edward Mann, who finished fourth with a time of 57.96 in the 100-yard backstroke; in the 200-yard breaststroke,  junior Jonathan Drori finished fourth and sophomore Timothy Sullivan finished sixth. 
 
Jack Matusiak, a sophomore, finished sixth in the 100-yard breaststroke, while fellow sophomore Joseph Pedo placed seventh in the 50-yard freestyle and junior Joseph Nguyen placed eighth in the 100-yard butterfly. Freshman Alexander Hilsamer had personal bests in the 100 and 200 yard breaststroke.
 
Head Coach Mike Lawson was pleased with his team saying: "Our team really showed their heart today in our win against both Manhattan and St. Francis. I am really proud of all the school records and personal-best swims swam today. This is the first time since 2008 that we won against Manhattan. This was a definitive win against both teams."
 
The Highlanders next meet is Friday. November 7, at Saint Peter's at 7pm.