The Ramapo men’s swim team is in for a very exciting season this year. The NCAA Division III team is part of the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) and also competes at the Metropolitan Conference championships, as there are no NJAC championships due to a lack of schools with a varsity team. The men placed sixth at the Metropolitan Conference championships.

The team returns many all-conference swimmers, including backstroker/sprint freestyler Andrew Ramos, mid-distance freestyler Peter Kellner and butterflier/IM-er Jose Alferez. The team also lost some key players, such as Phil Sokoloff, who participated in every relay at conferences.

Even though the team has lost some key contenders, the team gained more than they lost. With the addition of butterflier/IM-er Jesse Smith, sprint freestyler Alex Barszcz and butterflier Julian Giglio, the additions outweigh the losses.

So far, the team is 3-1, beating FDU Florham, Mount St. Mary’s College and SUNY New Paltz. The one loss came from powerhouse NJAC Conference champions TCNJ.

The wins against FDU and Mt. St. Mary’s came easy to the men, winning every event and almost sweeping as well. The win against New Paltz didn’t come as easily. Losing only three events, the men put up a solid 152.5-109.5 victory against the non-conference rivals.

This weekend, the Roadrunners travel to Rowan University to swim the conference rival Profs on their home territory. Last year, Rowan placed third at METS, while TCNJ placed first.

“Rowan is going to be some tough competition,” stated Jose Alferez, sophomore swimmer. “I think if we really put our minds into the meet, we can pull out a win.”

On November 20, the team will travel down to Franklin and Marshall for the annual Franklin and Marshall Invitational. This meet usually hosts tough competition, including Steven’s Institute of Technology and the University of Delaware. Last year, the team placed fourth.

After winter break, the Roadrunners return to action, swimming conference rivals Montclair state, William Paterson and non-conference St. Francis University.

“I’m really excited to swim Montclair,” stated Alferez. “We always have good meets against them and this year, the compeition is even better. We going to come into the meet ready to represent Ramapo!”