After consistently making a silently powerful statement throughout the season, no longer could David Holmes go unnoticed. The BU junior finally got his recognition this past weekend as he was named the Men’s Swimmer of the Meet at the ECAC’s held at the University of Pittsburgh.

“When I looked over the psych sheets a few days before the meet I did notice that I was the only guy who stood a great chance of winning three events, and be part of a few winning relays, so I kind of quietly made that my goal for the weekend,” Holmes said.

Holmes won all three of his individual events: the 100 fly (49.17), 100 free (44.75) and 500 free (4:24.96). He also contributed to two first-place finishes in the 400 medley (3:24.30) and 400 free (3:05.46) relays, and a second place finish in the 800 free (6:52.12) relay, where he also broke a school record and met the NCAA ‘B’ mark in his leg of the race (1:37.34).

Binghamton is notoriously weak in the distance events, but Holmes dominated the 500 free, finishing 10 seconds ahead of the next competitor. He broke the school record and earned an NCAA ‘B’ cut in that race as well.

“The 500 was a fun race,” Holmes said. “No one really knew what to expect, least of all me. I was hoping to go faster than the guy who won the America East last week, that’s all.”

Overall, the Binghamton men had a strong showing at the meet. In come-from-behind fashion, the 400-free relay team of freshman Brian Koralewski, sophomore Michael Britvan, junior Brian Koizim and Holmes pulled out a victory, almost going unnoticed. While Binghamton occupied lane 8, all attention was focused on the center two lanes, the apparent leaders of the race. But as Holmes entered the water, he single-handedly closed the gap to overtake the leaders and claim an essentially unexpected victory.

“Relays are the most fun thing about any meet, especially when you win them,” Holmes said. “We are lucky enough to be able to do that more often than not.”

Koizim also had some individual success, finishing fifth in the 200 back (1:52.42) and sixth in the 100 fly (50.84), just 1.67 seconds off the leader and fellow teammate, Holmes.

“Koizim had an awesome meet,” Britvan said. “He stepped it up in the sprint and butterfly events, and showed his versatility.”

Binghamton overall had a better showing than last year, relying more heavily on its freshmen presence. The program continues to develop as the strong recruiting class provides versatility and more competitive times.

“The competition was a lot less intense compared to the previous weekend, but other teams knew we had a solid bunch of swimmers who can all step it up,” Holmes said.

For the women, it was all about the seniors finishing out their careers. With four girls in attendance at the meet, Binghamton was able to compete in the relay events. Nicole Fulgieri claimed 12th in the 100 back (1:02.98), Eden Payabyab finished 12th in the 100 fly (1:00.22), Christine Carroll touched in 14th in the 100 breast (1:10.39) and freshman Aleksandra Grubic touched in 16th in the 100 free (55.46).

In women’s diving, freshman Katherine Hassfurter finished seventh in the three-meter and one-meter events. On the men’s side, freshman Ryan Graham finished fourth in the three-meter and seventh in the one-meter, while sophomore Matthew Russo finished eighth in both events.

While the individual success is great, the BU men’s and women’s teams care a lot more about the America East Championships. As the programs continue to grow, the Bearcats turn their focus to next season.

“Nothing in my experience compares to the America East champs,” Holmes said. “It’s nice to have an opportunity to swim some other events, but at champs you have 40 of your closest friends going through every race with you.”