Tampa Men Finish as National Runner-Up, While Jacob Hamlin Sets National Record in the 1650 Freestyle

INDIANAPOLIS - The University of Tampa men's and women's swimming teams wrapped competition at the 2025 NCAA Division II Swimming & Diving Championships on Saturday night at the IU Natatorium, highlighted by a National Runner-Up finish for the men and a sixth place finish for the women.

In the venue known for welcoming "All Great Racers to Indy," sophomore Jacob Hamlin raced to his fourth individual National Title of the weekend, this time in the 1650 Freestyle, taking down his own National Record in the process.

On the women's side, sophomore Sidni Meister brought home the highest finish of the evening, touching seventh in the 200 Backstroke, 1:59.86.

Fifth-year Roma Vrijhof on what Tampa Swimming has meant to her, "I don't think words can describe what being a Tampa Swimmer has meant to me. This team has given me friends, family, a home, and something to work for; and I can't believe it's over."

Head Coach Jimi Kiner on his team's performances on the final day, "While we would have loved to win on the guys' side, to finish second is not a bad thing, so I'm really proud of this team and what they did. On the girls side, we just keep moving up, tenth two years ago, seventh last year, and sixth this year. We have a good group of girls, a core that we are going to work with, and we'll see what we can do next year."

Top Performances (Men)

• In the 1650 Freestyle, Jacob Hamilin won the National Title, while breaking his own National Record by over three seconds. Further top sixteen finishers include Diego Dulieu (12th - 15:30.59) and Barnabas Fluck (15th - 15:33.07).

• In the 100 Freestyle, fifth-year Rafael Ponce De Leo finished 12th touching at 43.83, while senior Caleb Brandon finished sixteenth, 44.59.

• Senior Parker Knollman swam to a fourth place finish in the 200 Backstroke, 1:42.59.

• In the 200 Breaststroke, Jared Mindek picked up a third-place finish, setting a new school record at 1:55.60, Richard Polasek finished 15th, 1:59.21

• The 400 Freestyle Relay Team of Ponce De Leon, Rzezwicki, Hamlin, and Brandon finished fourth, 2:53.01.

  • Rafael Ponce De Leon (43.85 split)

  • Gabriel Rzezwicki (43.87)

  • Jacob Hamlin (42.47)

  • Caleb Brandon (42.82)

Top Performances (Women)

• To kick off the night sophomore Laura Hodgson swam a 16:56.29 in the 1650 Freestyle to finish ninth.

• In the 200 Backstroke, two individuals picked up All-American Honors, Sidni Gillan (7th - 1:59.86) and Sierra Gillan (8th - 2:01.92), while Carlie Tyler finished 11th, 1:58.70, and Lindsey Louder touched 14th, 1:59.28.

• The 400 Freestyle Relay Team of Morin, Louder, Gillan, and Vrijhof swam to a tenth place finish touching at 3:22.77.

  • Tilde Morin (50.73 split)

  • Lindsey Louder (51.03 split)

  • Sierra Gillan (50.61 split)

  • Roma Vrijhof (50.40 split)

Final Team Standings

Men's Final Team Rankings

1. Drury - 525 points

2. Tampa - 451 points

3. McKendree - 349 points

4. Grand Valley - 291.5 points

5. Indy - 290 points

6. Wingate - 174.5 points

7. Lewis - 163 points

8. St Cloud St - 159 points

9. Colorado Mesa - 156 points

10. Lynn - 152 points

Women's Final Team Rankings

1. Nova Southeastern - 475 points

2. Drury - 463 points

3. Colorado Mesa - 376 points

4. Indy - 346 points

5. Lynn - 233 points

6. Tampa - 220 points

7. Simon Fraser - 211 points

8. Grand Valley - 198 points

9. Findlay - 185 points

10. Clarion - 140 points