Boys’ Swimming

Program Overview

Boys’ swimming at Poly Prep began making a mark on the New York City level in 1908. Since that time, Poly has had several City League and State Champions. Poly now competes in the Ivy Prep League, The NYSIS and Easterns Championships.

Poly Prep has an on-campus indoor pool where rigorous training sessions combined with a world-class strength and conditioning program are the standard for this Poly team.

Boys’ Swimming Highlights

Poly Prep boys finished the season with some very impressive swims throughout the season hitting their personal best times at almost every meet.

The season culminated with significant personal drops in times at the 2020 Ivy Championship:

• Antony Pfaffle ‘23 – Finalist in the 200 Free
• Cole Marciano ‘22 – Finalist in the 200 IM and 500 free
• Adrian Bloom ‘21 – Finalist in the 200 IM and 100 Fly
• Nick Perez ‘20 – Finalist in the 50 and 100 Free
• Nate Fernandez ‘21 – Finalist in the 50 and 100 Back
• NYSAISAA Swimming Championships: Antony Pfaffle ‘23 – 200 Free Finalist
• NYSAISAA Swimming Championships: Nate Fernandez ‘21 – 50 Free Finalist

Boys’ Swimming Coaches

Nikolay became a junior nationals finalist in Russia and, tempted by the idea of life in the United States, embarked on an All-American career at the CUNY College of Staten Island. Following through on another dream, Shevchenko, in 2009, founded Avantis Swimming Academy (later Freedom Aquatics), an instructional school that grew to include a competitive club team and multiple facilities in the NY-NJ area.

Coaching Career Highlights

• Selected Coach for 2019 USA Swimming Leadership Summit at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, CO
• Metropolitan Swimming’s Must Watch Age Group Coach of the Year (2016 – 2017 Season)
• Active Member of Metropolitan Swimming Strategic Planning Committee
• Riverbank Redtails International Invitational Coach Award 2014
• Honorable Mention Leadership Award 2015
• Trained and prepared numerous athletes who qualified for Division I, II and III NCAA championships. Junior and Senior National Championships.

Coaching Experience

• USA Swimming Certified Coach Since 2012
• Member of American Swimming Coaches Association
• Selected Metro Zone Team Coach of 2014, 2015, 2016
• Selected Coach for Metro All Stars Training Camp 2014 under the guidance of Olympic Coach Sergio Lopez Miro and Olympic Swimmer Peter VanderKaay
• Selected Coach for Metro Annual Outreach Swimming Clinic 2014 with Olympic Swimmers Doug Lennox and Brett Fraiser
• Selected Coach for Brackin Elite Training Best Swim Camp 2015 under the guidance of Olympic Coaches Dave Durden and Kim Brackin
• Selected Coach for 4UElite Swimming Clinic with Megan Romano 2018

Swimming Achievements as an athlete

• NCAA All-American (2007–2011)
• ECAC (Eastern College Athletic Conference): Champion and Records Holder (2008 – 2009)
• CUNY (City University of New York): Nominated CUNY Scholar-Athlete of the year (2011), Athlete of the Year in the sport of Men’s Swimming (2009–2011)
• Russian Junior Nationals Finalist
• US and Russian Nationals Qualifier
• US Open Qualifier

Coach Merouane brings tremendous knowledge and international coaching experience in the sport of swimming to Poly Prep. He earned a degree in sports nutrition and in psychology for high performance sport. He continues studying and growing as a professional and within the last several years has completed many educational programs including Associate of Applied Science: Computer and Information Sciences. In addition, Coach Merouane has worked with many international high level swim teams.

Career Highlights

• Top 1 US ranking 50 FL SCM 10 & Under
• 3 Golden, 4 Silver, 24 Bronze, 2021 ISCA Summer Elite Showcase
• More than 30 swimmers qualified to MR LCM Junior Olympic Championship
• One swimmer selected to represent MR in the 2021 Eastern Zone LCM Age Group Championship
• Three swimmers qualified to 2021 TYR Metro Senior Mets Championship
• Virtual Assistant to the Olympic de Paris de natation to enhance the performance. 12 swimmers aged 14-15 (Paris 2024)
• Worked closely with the Moroccan Youth and Sport Ministry to develop the sport in the country

Certifications

• American Swimming Coaches Association (ASCA) Level 5
• National Federation of State High School Associations NFHS Certified Coach level 2 International Swimming Coaches Association (ISCA) 

Coaching Experience

• 09/2018 – Current Freedom Aquatics Head Location Coach 
• 08/2017-08/2018 – NCAC Flushing Meadows Corona Park Queens, NY USA Club 
• 01/2010-01/2017 – Al Wasl Club (Swimming) Dubai, UAE
• 08/2007-12/2009 – Cercle Des Nageurs De Marseille, France
• 02/2005-03/2007 – Cercle Des Nageurs De Bruxelles, Belgium
• 01/2002-12/2004 – Swim Team of Association Sportive De Sale, Morocco

Swimming Facilities

The Poly Prep Boys’ and Girls’ Swim teams train in our on campus pool.