Graduating seniors receive plaques in honor of closing out their MU swim career. Pictured (left to right): Grace Dillon, Kate Maio, Natalia Vélez-Serrano, Joe Brennan, Vinny Tramontana, and Islam Yousri. GRACE DILLON / COURTESY
Elizabeth Kalaj, Senior Writer
The Manhattan University swimming and diving team bid farewell to six seniors on Jan. 25 during the team’s Senior Day meet against Iona.
The six seniors included Joe Brennan, Vinny Tramontana, Islam Yousri, Grace Dillon, Kate Maio and Natalia Vélez-Serrano. Each was presented individually with a plaque to commemorate their athletic careers at MU. The seniors delivered speeches highlighting their academic and athletic accomplishments, as their loved ones waited for them at a tunnel formed by their teammates.
Joe Brennan, senior accounting major and captain of the swim team, placed first in the men’s 100-yard breaststroke, completing the race in 58 seconds against Iona. He also achieved a personal best of 55.62 seconds during the men’s 100-yard individual medley. Reflecting on his last home meet, Brennan shared what the moment meant to him.
“Being able to see my family and knowing that they made the trip from Florida to come up and watch me swim at my senior meet along with a bunch of friends in the stands is a great feeling,” Brennan said. “Going against Iona is always fun and everyone brings the energy. I have been swimming for fifteen years and with my race specifically, I swam against my best friend of thirteen years on Iona’s team. Just knowing that both of our families were there and it was our Senior Day, there was so much excitement around it. I was not nervous at all, I just went out and had fun.”
Grace Dillon, a senior digital media art major and a Jasper swimmer, was also honored at the meet. She has been competing on the MU swim team since her freshman year and is now closing out her career after 14 years in the sport.
“Senior Day is such a nice send-off,” Dillon said. “It is very sweet to be able to have everyone on deck because my parents have been at every meet and my sister and her husband, who were also at the meet, were swimmers for just as long as me. So swimming has always been part of our whole family.”
Both seniors reflected on the transition of coaches during their four years and expressed confidence in the future of the team. They praised their head coach Brian Hansbury for leading an organized program that swimmers can feel both relaxed and excited about.
The Quadrangle asked Brennan about his favorite memory while being a Jasper swimmer.
“My favorite meet at MU had to be MAAC’s 2024,” Brennan said. “I won the 100 breaststroke and I also broke the school record, which I broke that morning as well. It was just a great feeling winning that and then seeing the team celebrate that.”
Leticia Fontes, a sophomore on the swim team at MU, placed third against Iona in the women’s 100-yard breaststroke. She reflected on the seniors’ season coming to a close and what that means to her as an underclassman on the team.
“The senior meet is always a great time to show what it is to be a senior and a student-athlete at the same time,” Fontes said. “I think the impact of the seniors leaving makes me sad because they have been here during my entire time on the team, but seeing them is also encouraging and inspiring to see how long they have been here and how much they have accomplished. It makes me want to accomplish the same things they have because we have so many successful people leaving. It is a bittersweet feeling, but we are all very proud of our seniors and I am grateful to be part of a team that celebrates each other all the time.”