As March Madness permeated the collegiate basketball scene throughout the nation, the month also proved to be one of the greatest in the history of New York University Athletics.
Several "firsts" were accomplished, while numerous honors and achievements were garnered at a rate unsurpassed in Violet history.
"March has truly been an outstanding month for our university and our student-athletes, a wonderful culmination of a lot of hard work throughout the winter season," said NYU's Assistant Vice Present for Student Affairs and Director of Athletics, Christopher Bledsoe. "We have been recognized nationally in many sports, while our student-athletes have reached heights of excellence never seen before within our programs."
Those accomplishments were:
- Senior wrestler Nathan Pike won the 133-pound title at the NCAA Division III Championships, the first NYU wrestler ever to take an individual national title.
- Freshman swimmer Honore Collins won the 200-yard Individual Medley at the NCAA Division III Championships, the first NYU swimmer, male or female, to claim an individual national title.
- The NYU Men's (5th place) and Women's (8th place) Swimming & Diving teams posted best-ever finishes at the NCAA Championships.
- Blaise Benderoth of the Wrestling Team posted the best finish ever (6th place – 184 pounds) for a NYU freshman at the NCAA Championships and earns All-America honors.
- The NYU Club Hockey team won the ACHA (American Collegiate Hockey Association) National Championship for the second time in three years.
- A total of 23 NYU men's and women's swimmers and divers earned 46 NCAA All-America honors.
- The Men's and Women's Fencing teams posted an 11th-place finish at the NCAA Championships, the squads' best combined finish since 2005, as two male fencers (junior Philip Shin, sophomore Grant Williams) earned All-America honors. NYU was the top Division III finisher at the competition.
- The Women's Golf team, which posted victories at the UAA (University Athletic Association) Championship and the Jekyll Island Collegiate Invitational during the month, rose to a highest-ever #3 in the Golfstat.com National Rankings.
- NYU's Men's Volleyball team rose to #7 in the AVCA (American Volleyball Coaches Association) National Rankings.
- The Wrestling team produced six NWCA (National Wrestling Coaches Association) Scholar All-Americans (junior Anthony Calvano, freshman Maykel Dolorit, junior Jacob Donato, freshman Evan Drill, junior Raymond Jazikoff, ).