Tamir Zitelny of Syosset had a standout rookie season, leading the team to a third-place finish at the New England Intercollegiate Swimming and Diving Association (NEISDA) Championship, their first appearance since 2006. Of the 11 meets in the regular season in which Zitelny competed, there were only two where he did not finish first in at least one race. Zitelny, however, saved his biggest performances for championship season.
His championship debut was at the University Athletic Association (UAA) Swimming & Diving Championships hosted by the University of Chicago. Both individually and through contributions to relays, Zitelny had his hand in 112 points of the 303 points the men’s team scored at that meet. At this meet, Zitelny and his teammates, including brother Edan, broke Brandeis’s six-year-old 400-yard medley relay record by nearly three seconds, swimming 3:28.86. This relay placed sixth overall. His best individual performance was in the 100-yard backstroke when he swam 50.88 for 10th place.
The next weekend, Zitelny competed at the NEISDA Championships held in Kingston, RI at the University of Rhode Island. Here, Zitelny won three individual events, breaking school records in all three. Zitelny won both the 100-yard (50.61) and 200-yard backstroke (1:51.70), breaking his own school records. In the 100-yard backstroke, in addition to breaking the school record, Zitelny set a new meet record. In winning the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 1:52.74, Zitelny made an NCAA B cut.
Zitelny is a 2016 graduate of Syosset High School and an alum of the Team Suffolk Swim Club.
—Brandeis University
