MARLBOROUGH, Mass. – Wheaton College (Mass.) senior Anton Lopez (Oakland, Calif.), juniors Will Chappell (Worcester, Mass.), Gavin Cullinan (Cumming, Ga.), Will Larson (Iowa City, Iowa), Alex Minickiello (Swanzey, N.H.), Andrew Tran (Milton, Mass.) and sophomore Kevin Rice (Vienna, Va.) were named to the New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference Men's Swimming & Diving Academic All-Conference Team, it was announced by the league.
Honorees must have met the following criteria: earned a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.5/4.0 scale or 4.35/5.0 scale after the 2024 fall semester, achieved second year academic status at their institution, and been a member of the varsity team for the entire season.
Lopez earns the honor for the third consecutive year, while Chappell, Cullinan, Minickiello and Tran each repeat after being selected a year ago. Larson and Rice are both tabbed for the first time.
Lopez won bronze at the NEWMAC Championship in both the 100-yard backstroke and 50-yard freestyle to go with an 11th-place effort in the 100-yard freestyle for the Lyons. The senior Computer Science major set four personal-best times during the season. Chappell turned in three personal-best marks during the season for Wheaton. The junior Mathematics major recorded seven top-five finishes for Wheaton, including a pair of third-place efforts. Cullinan piled up big points at the NEWMAC Championship for the Lyons, finishing fourth in the 100-yard backstroke, fifth in the 200-yard backstroke and sixth in the 200-yard freestyle. The junior Biochemistry major was continually at his best throughout the year, posting eight personal-record times during the season.
Minickiello scored at the NEWMAC Championship for Wheaton, finishing 10th in the 1650-yard freestyle and added an 18th-place finish in the 400-yard individual medley. The junior recorded 13 top-five finishes during the season, including a win in the 1000-yard freestyle against Bridgewater State University. Tran scored ninth-place finishes in both the 100-yard backstroke and 200-yard breaststroke in addition to placing 16th in the 200-yard individual medley at the NEWMAC Championship. The junior Chemistry major won six races during the season and posted 18 top-three showings. Larson transferred back to Wheaton in the fall and placed eighth in the 'A' finals for the 100-yard backstroke, while finishing 15th in the 50-yard freestyle at the NEWMAC Championship. The junior Business major recorded six personal-best times during the season. Rice tallied big points after finishing fifth in the 1650-yard freestyle in addition to placing seventh in the 400-yard individual medley and 11th in the 500-yard freestyle at the NEWMAC Championship. The sophomore Political Science major registered 15 top three-finishes during the year, including seven victories for the Lyons.
Wheaton finished the dual meet season with a 2-7 record, before placing fifth for its highest finish since 2017 at the NEWMAC Championship meet.
