Lynn University sophomore Mevlut Efe Guler (@m.efe_glr, World Aquatics bio here) upset favored Joshua Brown of Michigan (@joshua_._brown, World Aquatics bio here), 52:55.1 to 52:55.6. It was a close race throughout the three-loop 5 km race and came down to the very end, as most top-end open water swimming competitions do.
Matt Cinque of Boston College led the first loop and eventually finished a close third in 52:56.0.
The 2025 College Swimming & Diving Coaches Association of America National Collegiate Open Water Swimming Championship is a unique competition that brings together athletes from all the different divisions from coast to coast in the United States. Such truly nationwide competitions in any sports are rare and a joy to watch.
Collegiate athletics in the United States is separated into different divisions: Division I, Division II, Division III, NAIA. The divisions are determined by the size of the school’s student population, the athletic budget, available resources, and commitment to athletics. Division I focuses on the top-level competition and offers the largest funding. Division II offers a balanced combination of sports and academics while Division III emphasizes academics, offering no athletic scholarships. Each division sets its own rules, with Division I offering the most scholarships and best facilities. Division II offering a smaller amount of aid while Division III prioritizing the student experience over commercialism.
So a victory by Guler, a Fighting Knight from a Division II school, is a big deal and a big upset in collegiate athletics. But open water competitions literally level the playing field among fast swimmers who can swim strategically and tactically as Guler di.
In fact, in this head-to-head competition, athletes from the lower-tier school performed extraordinarily well. Among the top 11 finishers in addition to Guler, Jacob Hamilin, of the University of Tampa (Division II) finished 4th, Berk Boz of Grand Valley State University (Division II) finished 6th, Thomas Langlois of Whittier College (Division III) finished 8th, Raul Briceno of Grand Valley State University (Division II) finished 9th, Anton Zeno Rauch of Grand Valley State University (Division II), finished 10th, and Atakan Ercan of Milligan University (NAIA) finished 11th – all outstanding performances by any measure.
Guler and Brown will, almost assuredly, cross paths in the open water in the future. Guler has represented his native Turkey in World Cup competitions while Brown has represented USA Swimming at the 2024 World Championships in Doha, competing in both the 5 km and 10 km races as well as in World Cup competitions from Hong Kong to Portugal.
Eagle Teamwork
Two of the athletes from Boston College – Nick Fabian who finished 21st and Matt Cinque, who finished third – worked together in a unique fashion. Fabian was ill, so sick that he vomited on the shoreline as the field was entering the water. He told his coaches Dara Torres and Chris Morgan that he was not about to quit and was going to give it a shot. He also told his fellow distance freestyle teammate Cinque, “I am going out hard. Stay on my right hip and I will slingshot you around into the lead pack.“
True to his word, freshman Fabian [shown on left below] did what he said he was going to do, and his fellow freshman Cinque [shown on right below] used that early draft to lead the entire field throughout the first loop – that ultimately put him into position to earn a podium position.
As Cinque was enjoying his third-place finish, Fabian finished in a weakened, dehydrated state and then vomited again after he crossed the finish. Eagle pride, indeed.
Men’s 5 km Results, Top 47
- Mevlut Efe Guler, Lynn University, Division II, 52:55.1
- Joshua Brown, University of Michigan, Division I, 52:55.6
- Matt Cinque, Boston College, Division I, 52:56.0
- Jacob Hamilin, University of Tampa, Division II, 52:57.5
- Parker Sterlitz, West Virginia University, Division I 53:16.1
- Berk Boz, Grand Valley State University, Division II 53:22.7
- Eli Rolfsen, Miami University, , Division I, 53:27.7
- Thomas Langlois, Whittier College, Division III, 53:28.5
- Raul Briceno, Grand Valley State University Division II, 53:29.4
- Anton Zeno Rauch, Grand Valley State University, Division II, 53:45.0
- Atakan Ercan, Milligan University, NAIA, 54:17.6
- Darwin Anderson, Brigham Young University,, Division I, 54:35.2
- Poyraz San Askin, Youngstown State University, Division I, 54:52.0
- Jake Salcedo, West Virginia University, Division I, 55:19.6
- Gianni Carlino, Florida Atlantic, Division I, 55:26.6
- Timithee Garin, Northern Michigan University, Division II, 55:27.0
- Evan Fox, Grand Valley State University, Division II, 55:28.1
- Ian Mckinney, West Virginia University, Division I, 55:30.2
- Brady Beyer, University of Cincinnati, Division I, 55:33.3
- Akant Durur, Florida Atlantic, Division I, 55:37.7
- Nick Fabian, Boston College, Division I, 55:39.1
- Owen Nye, Villanova University, Division I, 55:39.1
- Tommy Erwin, Dartmouth College, Division I, 55:42.8
- Kjell Cady, University of Cincinnati, Division I, 55:46.3
- Oliver Stull, West Virginia University, Division I, 55:47.4
- Alejandro Varon, University of Cincinnati, Division I, 55:49.6
- Matthew Hughes, Loyola University Maryland, Division I, 55:50.1
- Amr Ramadan Abdelhal, Youngstown State University, Division 1, 55:53.6
- Kyle Bumgardner, University of Cincinnati, Division I, 55:55.7
- Brady Tierney, Villanova University, Division I, 55:58.7
- Xavier Orlic, Dartmouth College, Division I, 56:00.0
- Jacob Turner, Dartmouth College, Division I, 56:02.8
- Anthony Ramirez, Biola, Division II, 56:10.1
- Patrick Casey, Villanova University, Division I, 56:11.3
- Yan Dvoretskiy, Dartmouth College, Division I, 56:12.8
- Noah Hall, Biola, Division II, 56:12.8
- Rush Clark, Florida Atlantic, Division I, 56:19.2
- Brody Singley, Florida Atlantic, Division I, 56:21.8
- Tanner Nelson, Brigham Young University, Division I, 56:22.2
- Kamil Geisner, Lynn University, Division II, 56:23.5
- Barnabus Fluck, University of Tampa, Division II, 56:29.7
- Gabriel Tortola, West Virginia University, Division I, 57:11.3
- Pierre Leroy, Loyola University Maryland, Division I, 57:38.6
- David Grant, Youngstown State University, Division I, 58:11.2
- Dane Weber, Brigham Young University, Division I, 58:22.8
- Ethan Woycehoski, Youngstown State University, Division I, 58:25.4
- Vedaant Madhavan, West Virginia University, Division I, 58:27.6
Other competitors included, with the full results here.
- Ahmed Abdalla, Emmanuel University, Division II
- Robert Adam, Milligan University, NAIA
- Seif Elbatal, Youngstown State University Division I
- Yagiz Ari, Emmanuel University, Division II
- Cooper Beebe, Old Dominion University, Division I
- Zach Billotte, Northern Michigan University, Division II
- Sabian Branch, Florida Atlantic, Division I
- Grey Bremer, Old Dominion University, Division I
- Alexander Bridgmohan, DePauw University, Di,vision III
- Gianni Carlino, Florida Atlantic, Division I
- Franco Chirinos, DePauw University, Division III
- Owen Daniels, Le Moyne, Division I
- Jonathan De Dios, Biola, Division II
- Andrew Diano, Iona University, Division I
- Philipp Drappatz, The College of Wooster, Division III
- Diego Dulieu, University of Tampa, Division II
- Tyler Farkas, DePauw University, Division III
- Ralph Fiscus, Air Force Academy, Division I
- Peter Gilbert, Milligan University, NAIA
- Aaron Graff, DePauw University, Division III
- Quinn Harman, Youngstown State University, Division I
- Evan Hasenkampf, The College of Wooster, Division III
- Joseph Hayburn, Loyola University Maryland, Division I
- Lucas Haynes, Saint Michaels College, Division II
- Robert Heim, Iona University, Division I
- Bryant Julian, Old Dominion University, Division I
- Rafael Kowal, Saint Michaels College, Division II
- Will Laubacher, The College of Wooster, Division III
- Hayden Lester, Emmanuel University, Division II
- Nick Martin, Old Dominion University, Division I
- Jacob Miller, Milligan University, NAIA
- Jack Mummery, Le Moyne, Division I
- Ian Noffsinger, Old Dominion University, Division I
- Romek Oakes, Iona University, Division I
- Joshua Peace, Biola, Division II
- Tucker Rice, Air Force Academy, Division I
- Alessandro Rosatelli, Northern Michigan University, Division II
- Morgan Roszel, Milligan University, NAIA
- Emre Sungur, Lynn University, Division II
- Tyler Surratt, Air Force Academy, Division I
- Andrew Thompson, DePauw University, Division III
- Caden Traggiai, Penn State Altoona, Division III
- Evan Vinarov, Old Dominion University, Division I
- Trent Wakefield, Youngstown State University, Division I
- Caleb Weis, UW-Whitewater, Division III
- Elliot Weisel, University of Tampa, Division II
- Mikey White Jr, Le Moyne, Division I
- Evan Witte, Air Force Academy,, Division I
- Matthew Woyksnar, Iona University, Division I
The 2025 CSCAA Open Water Championship offered warm, flat water venue for the collegiates at Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota. The top five finishers received invitations to the USA Swimming 5K Open Water Championships.
For more information, visit cscaa.org/open-water-championship. Referees and officials included Tom Lombardo, Henry Acevado, Aida Acevado, and Mason Johnson.
© 2025 Daily News of Open Water Swimming
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