When the calendar reaches February, anyone following the swim and dive team has their eyes set on the Atlantic 10 Championship tournament, hosted in Geneva, Ohio. However, much closer to our home in the Bronx, the Fordham Rams competed in the NYU Invitational this weekend.

“We hopped on the Metro-North to Grand Central, took the 4 train down to Union, and the pool is right outside of the station.”

These are the words of A.J. Frakes, a sophomore from Phoenix, Arizona, who competed at the nearby NYU complex this weekend. He would claim the top spot in the 100 freestyle in 47.13 seconds, the only event he swam in.

“Not every kid gets to compete at the A-10 tournament,” Frakes said. “Coach uses this meet for the kids that don’t travel to the tournament to get their last swims in for the season.”

While there was no team scoring, the Rams certainly boasted individual highlights on top of Frakes’ performance. Sophomore Doug Grisbaum claimed first in the 500 freestyle in 4:47.77. Freshman Wade Meaders had a handful of second-place finishes, doing so in the 200 backstroke (1:58.63), 200 freestyle (1:45.51) and 100 backstroke (53.88) events.

The women also demonstrated their capabilities, headlined by Elizabeth Long, a freshman from Vernon Hill, Illinois, as she placed first in the 100 breaststroke (1:08.08). Freshman duo Courtney Cail and Eva Caplan followed suit, placing second (1:08.53) and third (1:08.78), respectively, behind Long in the same event.
Looking ahead, the Rams travel to Ohio to contend in the A-10 Championship tournament, spanning from Wednesday, Feb. 19 to Saturday, Feb. 22.

For those who competed at NYU, their season has come to a halt. However, with the vast majority of these swimmers being underclassmen, there is much more to come. A.J. Frakes, just in his sophomore year, put it perfectly.

“At this point, you just reset and start focusing on next year.”