Now every Bearcat has someone to root for in the NCAA tournament. No, not March Madness, but the annual NCAA swimming and diving championships held at the University of Minnesota this weekend.

Binghamton University senior swimmer David Holmes will be participating in the championships, the first male swimmer from Binghamton to ever compete at the tournament. Holmes joins female swimmers Yun Qu and Huijue Cai as the only Bearcat swimmers to ever grace the NCAA tournament. Holmes also becomes the first male swimmer in America East conference history to receive an NCAA bid.

‘We can’t be any prouder for Dave,’ said swimming and diving coach Sean Clark. ‘He has worked incredibly hard this season and over the last two years to earn this selection.’

Holmes participated in the 500-yard freestyle on Thursday afternoon, finishing in an impressive 27th place with a time of 4:23.81.

‘It’s the fastest he has swam at a prelim,’ Clark said. Clark, along with team captain Brian Koizim, accompanied Holmes on his trip.

Holmes will also participate in two other races, the 200-yard freestyle today and, to conclude his tournament, the 200-yard butterfly tomorrow. The 200-free is Holmes’ strongest race. He captured the gold and set a new conference and school record at the America East championship. Also, his fastest time in the 200-free qualified as the 17th fastest in the nation. Holmes has also posted a top-40 time in the nation in the 200-butterfly.

Nevertheless, unlike his swims in the America East, Holmes is not expected to win any of the events.

‘We want him to score some points,’ Clark said, meaning Holmes must finish in the top 16 in a race. This is ‘rare air’ for Holmes, Clark said, as he has yet to swim against such difficult opponents.

The selection of Holmes to the championship is a huge step forward for the Binghamton swimming program and speaks volumes about the swimmer himself. The senior Bearcat will be swimming beside swimmers from schools such as Stanford, Arizona and perennial powerhouse Auburn.

‘This is an incredible recruiting tool,’ Clark said. ‘This is a terrific accomplishment for both him and our program.’ The selection of a Bearcat to the tournament may provide a boost to the program, which is losing both of its captains and its best swimmer, Holmes.

His qualification for the NCAA tournament is just one of many honors for this British phenom from Doncaster, England. Holmes captured the Most Outstanding Swimmer awards at both the America East championships and the East Coast Athletic championships, as well as setting meet and team records in the 200-free and 500-free, and capturing six NCAA B cut times.

The most telling distinction for Holmes may be his selection to the America East Swimming and Diving All-Academic team, of which honorees must have at least a 3.0 cumulative GPA and must have finished in the top three of a race at the conference championship. ‘[David] is more valuable than just a swimmer,’ Clark said, also noting Holmes’ leadership and class in the pool.

The end of the tournament will signal the end of Holmes’ career here at BU. ‘I don’t want them to leave,’ Clark said, remarking on losing Holmes and teammates Koizim and Trevor Stone to graduation. Yet there is no time for Clark to reflect on the past, as Holmes still has two races to go, and possibly his best shot of winning is today.