GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Connecticut College men's swimming and diving team is off to a strong start on the opening day of the 2025 NCAA Division III Swimming & Diving Championships at the Greensboro Aquatic Center.

The Camels qualified for championship finals in two events on Wednesday morning. Justin Finkel (Cheshire, Conn.) will defend his national title in the 500 freestyle, and he will also take part in the 400 medley relay alongside Matthew Morris (Alexandria, Va.), Carrick Shea (Grafton, Mass.) and Nicholas Holovacs (Hingham, Mass.).

The morning began with a pair of Camels competing in the preliminaries of the 500 free. Evan Lyons (Longmeadow, Mass.) made his NCAA debut and recorded a season-best time of 4:34.05 to finish fourth in his heat and 26th overall. 

Finkel hit the pool two heats later, going head-to-head against Coast Guard's Sean Lyman. Finkel finished as runner-up to his New London neighbor—but third overall in the session—with a season-best time of 4:25.59. Lyman, who notched the fastest time of the morning, will swim between Finkel and Chicago's Alexander Schwartz in tonight's championship final.

The Camels competed in the last heat of the 400 medley relay and grabbed the final spot in the championship finals by three-hundredths of a second. The squad broke their own school record with a time of 3:15.20, bettering the mark set at last month's NESCAC Championship. Shea played a key role with a strong leg in the breaststroke, shaving over half a second off his time from the conference meet.  

Cam Bizjak (Willoughby, Ohio) also competed on the opening day of the championship, finishing 24th in the 3M dive with a score of 384.95. The first Camel to dive at nationals since 2003, he will also take part in Friday's 1M event.

Wednesday night's finals are slated to begin at 6:00 p.m.