MARLBOROUGH, Mass.— Nine members of the Babson College men's swimming and diving team were recognized for success in the classroom when they were named to the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Academic All-Conference team on Thursday.
Representing Babson on the All-Academic Team were senior
Zackary Cheung (Monterey Park, Calif.), juniors
David Krol (Grafton, Wis.),
Anthony Taslakov (Sherborn, Mass.) and
Jason Zeliph (Voorheesville, N.Y.), and sophomores
Thomas Ambelang (Bernardsville, N.J.),
Ilaan Garware (Pune, India),
Tommy Hannenian (Sacramento, Calif.),
Nathan Huynh (Naperville, Ill.) and
Liam Maloney (Tampa, Fla.).
Cheung received the honor for the third consecutive year; Krol, Taslakov, and Zaliph are two-time selections; and the others are all first-time honorees. Academic all-conference honorees must have met the following criteria: earned a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale after the 2025 fall semester, achieved second-year academic status, and been a member of the varsity team for the entire season.
A Marketing major,
Cheung was a strong all-around swimmer for the Beavers in both individual events and relays. He placed ninth on the 100-yard butterfly, 10th in the 200-yard IM, and 15th in the 200-yard breaststroke at this year's NEWMAC Championships, and swam on relay teams that place fourth in the 200-yard medley relay, fifth in the 200-yard freestyle relay, and 13th in the 400-yard freestyle relay.
A Legal Studies major,
Krol had a strong showing in the diving events at the NEWMAC Championships, earning a pair of podium spots. He captured second place in the 3-meter with a career-best score of 514.92 points, and he finished runner-up on the 1-meter board with a career-best score of 487.40. He advanced to the NCAA Diving regionals, where he finished ninth on the 3-meter board (402.30) and eighth on 1-meter (399.00).
A Consulting major,
Taslakov enjoyed another outstanding season for the Beavers in multiple events. He placed third in the 200-yard freestyle and fourth in the 200-yard backstroke at the NEWMAC Championships, and swam on Babson relays that placed second in the 800-yard free relay in a program-record time, third in the 400 medley relay, fourth in the 400-yard free relay, and 12th in the 200-yard medley relay. He is currently the program record-holder in the 200 free (1:38.71), 200 back (1:48.76), and 200 IM (1:51.83), along with the 400 medley and 400 and 800 free relays.
A Finance major,
Zeliph completed a strong season for the Beavers in distance freestyle events. He finished in 16th place in the 1,650-yard freestyle at the NEWMAC Championships as well as 19th place in the 400-yard IM and 25th place in the 500 free.
An Accounting major,
Ambelang was a strong contributor for the Beavers in both individual events and relays. He placed 14th in the 100-yard butterfly, 14th in the 200-yard backstroke and 15th in the 100-yard backstroke at the NEWMAC Championships last month, and swam on three relay teams that placed fourth in the 200-yard medley relay, third in the B final of the 400-yard medley relay, and fourth in the B final of the 200-yard free relay.
A Business major,
Garware swam freestyle events for the Beavers this winter. He posted his top times of 26.53 second in the 50 free, 55.67 in the 100 free, 5:03.07 in the 500 free, 10:27.16 in the 1000 free, and 17:24.73 in the 1,650 free at the Fisher Invitational in November before suffering a season-ending injury.
A Finance major,
Hannenian was a strong contributor for the Beavers in freestyle events this season. He swam on Babson's 800-yard freestyle relay team that brought home second place at the NEWMAC Championships with a program record time of 6:43.84. He placed ninth in the 500 free, 13th in the 200 free, 20th in the 100 free and 26th in the 50 free, as well as a fourth-place finish in the 400 free relay and third place in the B final of the 400 medley relay.
A Finance major,
Huynh was successful in breaststroke and freestyle events for the Green and White. He placed sixth in the 100-yard breaststroke and 14th in the 200-yard breaststroke at the NEWMAC Championships, as well as finishing 35th in the 50-yard freestyle. He swam the breaststroke leg on Babson's third-place 400-yard medley relay team and the fourth-place 200-yard medley relay team.
A Finance major,
Maloney was a solid contributor for the Beavers in butterfly and individual medley events. He placed 10th in the 200-yard butterfly and 26th in the 100-yard fly at the NEWMAC Championships and also placed 26th in the 200-yard IM.
Babson finished with an 8-1 record in dual meets this winter, recording the highest dual-meet winning percentage (.889) since 1972-73. The Beavers placed fourth in the team standings at the NEWMAC Championships with 692 points, the program's fourth-highest total since 2002.
