WALTHAM, Mass. – Brandeis University senior Sam Dienstag of Willmette, Illinois, will be making his third appearance at the NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships this March 20-23 in Greensboro, North Carolina. A three-time All-American already, His 2024 performance is made all the more impressive by the fact that he missed nearly the entire regular season for the Judges due to illness, competing only in the team's final regular-season meet and at the University Athletic Association Championships.

"We are all very excited for Sam," said head coach Nicole Carter, in her sixth year and fifth season at Brandeis. "It's a great story. Everyone already knows how hard he works, But Sam faced a lot of adversity earlier in the semester and had to fight his way back to where he is now.

"He's going in with a mission, and I know he will have fun along the way. Sam takes great pride in representing Brandeis and his teammates."

Dienstag will represent the Judges in the distance freestyle events. He earned the University Athletic Association title in the 500-yard freestyle and is seeded fifth in the event with a time of 4:25.83. His crown in the event was the first for a Brandeis swimmer since 2003. Dienstag finished 13^th in the 500 at the NCAA Championship meet in 2023 for his first All-America honor earned at the championship meet – his first honor was earned in 2021, when the championships were cancelled and he was honored based on his final national ranking. The 500-yard freestyle is the first event of the meet on March 20^th, with trials at 10 a.m. and finals at 6 p.m.

Dienstag was the runner-up at the UAA Championship in the 1,650-yard freestyle and will be seeded 10^th in the event, which takes place on the final day of competition, March 23^rd. His best time of the season is 15:36.71. Dienstag finished fourth nationally in the mile in 2023, the highest finish ever by a Brandeis swimmer at nationals. As the 10^th seed, Dienstag will compete in the final race of the morning preliminary session, just missing a spot among the top eight finalists competing in the evening session.

Dienstag will also compete in the 200-yard freestyle, as qualifying swimmers are able to compete in up to three total events at the championship meet. He will be the 31^st seed in the 200 with a season-best time of 1:39.43.  The 200-yard freestyle is the final individual event of the second day of the meet, March 21^st, also with prelims starting at 10 a.m. and finals at 6 p.m.

Video for the 2024 NCAA Division III Men's Swimming and Diving Championships is available at https://www.ncaa.com/liveschedule/2024/03/20.

Dienstag helped Brandeis finish 25^th overall at the 2023 NCAA Championship thanks to his 19 points scored. He was named Brandeis's Male Athlete of the Year last year for his performance.

Dienstag is a 2020 graduate of New Trier High School.

For more information on Brandeis men's swimming and diving, visit our home page at https://brandeisjudges.com/sports/mswim.
 
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