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Led by dominant relay teams and distance freestyler Jacob Hamlin ’27, the UTampa men’s swimming team won the NCAA Division II swimming and diving national championship on Saturday in Evansville, Indiana. It was the second time in three seasons that the Spartans have claimed the national title.

UTampa’s women’s team placed second, the highest finish for the Spartan women since 1988.

The UTampa men swept the three freestyle relays in the five-day meet at the Deaconess Aquatic Center, starting on the first night, March 10, with a new Div. II record finish in the 800-yard freestyle relay. The team of Barnabas Fluck ’26, Joshua Noll ’27, Hamlin and Nicholas Cavic ’29 finished in 6 minutes, 16.64 seconds, surpassing their entry time by 7 seconds and giving the Spartans the early lead in team point standings.

In Day 2’s finals, Hamlin, the NCAA record holder in the event, won the 1000-yard freestyle in 8:50.02. Two days later, Hamlin would go on to win the 500-yard freestyle, too, in 4:14.35, crushing his prelims time of 4:22.57 and setting another NCAA record.

The relays and the team race deepened the excitement. On the third day, Tibor Tistan ’26, Riccardo Pandin ’27, Cavic and William Beckstead-Holman ’26 out-touched the sprinters from Colorado Mesa by 1/100^th of a second (1:17.36 to 1:17.37) in the 200-yard freestyle relay.

In the team standings, the Spartans held off a strong Drury University (MO) squad, which pulled ahead of the Spartans in the team standings on Day 2 and held onto the lead by single digits over the next few days. Going into the final session on Saturday, the Panthers, a 22-time national champion program, were 3.5 points ahead of the Spartans.

Hamlin got the Spartans off to a fast start in Saturday’s first event, touching second in the 1650-yard freestyle in 15:00.42 and pushing the Spartans ahead of Drury, 405.5-387. The Panthers pulled ahead in the team standings half-way through the session, but going into the final event, the 400-yard freestyle relay, an eight-point lead belonged to UTampa. It was enough — with a first or second-place finish, the Spartans would take the title.

Tistan led off the 400 free relay with a 42.82-second 100-yard split and held off Drury’s first swimmer, a cushion Pandin extended on the second leg. Hamlin and anchor leg Cavic closed the deal, giving UTampa the event win in 2:51.14, and the team national championship. Drury finished second in the event, less than half a second behind.

Final men’s team standings: UTampa 522.5. Drury 509. Colorado Mesa 416.

UTampa’s women were led by Burlingtyn Bokos ’28, who won the 400-yard individual medley on Thursday in 4:14.09. Sindi Meister set a school record on Saturday in the 200-yard backstroke, 1:57.29, good for second place in the event.

Sunshine State Conference rival Nova Southeastern won the women’s national team championship for the fourth year in a row, with 486 points. UTampa placed second with 424.5.

For more NCAA swimming information, visit tampaspartans.com.