March 21, 2004

St. Peters, MO - Johns Hopkins finished in fifth place with 229.5 points at the 2004 NCAA Division III Men's Swimming and Diving Championships this weekend at the St. Peters Rec-Plex. This year marks the fifth straight season that Hopkins has finished in the top five at the championships.

Junior Jon Kleinman (North Oaks, MN/Mounds View) opened Saturday's action by finishing seventh in the 1650 freestyle in 15:53.95, while sophomore Matt Chana (Northbrook, IL/Glenbrook North) was ninth in 15:59.77.

Junior J.P. Balfour (Plano, TX/Plano East) then finished ninth in the 200 backstroke in 1:50.47, and senior Kyle Robinson (Holden, MA/Wachusett Regional) tied for 11th in the 100 freestyle in 46.65. Senior Scott Pitz (Paoli, PA/Conestoga) followed by placing third in the 200 breaststroke in 2:02.32, while sophomore Tyler Harris (Lancaster, OH/Lancaster) finished eighth in 2:05.28.

Sophomore Gary Itskovich (Brooklyn, NY/Midwood) placed eighth in the 200 butterfly in 1:54.34, while sophomore Sean Kim (Silver Spring, MD/Paint Branch) came in 14th in 1:53.82.

The JHU 400 freestyle relay team of Harris, senior Loren Robinson (Coats, NC/Triton), sophomore Zane Hamilton (Chattanooga, TN/McCallie) and Kyle Robinson concluded the championships by finishing 12th in its event in 3:07.71.

Kenyon finished with 678.5 points to win its 25th straight championship, followed by Emory (446), Carnegie Mellon (307), Denison (246) and Hopkins (229.5).

2004 NCAA Division III Men's Swimming and Diving Championships - Final Standings
1. Kenyon - 678.5
2. Emory - 446
3. Carnegie Mellon - 307
4. Denison - 246
5. Johns Hopkins - 229.5
6. Williams - 191
7. Amherst - 185
8. Wheaton (IL) - 141
9. Gustavus Adolphus - 119.5
10. Kalamazoo - 102