Although the Georgetown swimming and diving team emerged from the weekend with two losses and two fourth-place finishes, the Hoyas had strong performances in their opening weekend. Both the men’s and women’s team began their weekend at the Potomac Relays on Friday in Washington, D.C., before heading to Delaware on Saturday for a dual meet.

On Friday, both teams traveled up the road to American for the Potomac Relays. Both teams finished fourth in the seven-team competition. The women’s team earned 38 points while the men’s team earned 48 points.

“Overall [the Potomac Relays] were great, it was our first meet of the year,” Head Coach Jamie Holder said.

The women’s and the men’s team both fared well in the 200-yard medley relay. The women’s team, which was made up of freshman Katie Duncalf, senior Rosemary Christian, freshman Molly Gaynor and sophomore Erica Fabbri, finished third with a time of 1:50.37. The men’s team finished second in the event with a team comprised of junior Michael Young, senior Christian Kilgore, freshman Martin Vanin and senior Matthew Mandel.

The women’s team also finished third in the 300-yard butterfly relay. Meanwhile, the men had third-place finishes in the 400-yard medley relay, the 1,000-yard freestyle relay and the 200-yard freestyle relay.

On Saturday, the Hoyas traveled to Delaware to take on the Blue Hens in their opening dual meet. The men were outscored 146-93, while the women fell 160-78. In the loss, both teams combined won seven events.

“Delaware is a good swimming program,” Holder said. “We had some really close races.”

The strongest event for the women was the 100-yard breaststroke, an event in which they swept the Blue Hens. Christian, sophomore Maryellen Campbell and junior Casey Bandman finished first, second and third, respectively.

Additionally, the women finished the meet on a strong note. In the meet’s final event, the 400-yard freestyle relay, the Hoyas had a one-two finish. Freshman Emma Cammann, sophomore Delaney Bader, sophomore Erin Timochenko and Gaynor made up the relay team that grabbed the first place finish.

Gaynor, swimming in her first collegiate dual meet, had a strong day all around. In addition to being a part of the winning 400-yard freestyle relay team, Gaynor also won her only individual event, the 100-yard butterfly, finishing in 58.38.

Meanwhile, the men’s team grabbed four first place finishes including a first place in the one-meter dive. Freshman Jared Vespa-Cooper led the Hoyas, finishing first in the one-meter dive with a score of 242.55. The men’s team also earned first-place finishes in the 100-yard breaststroke, the 50-yard freestyle and the 200-yard medley relay.

Mandel and Kilgore were at the center of two Georgetown victories, including the 200-yard medley relay, which also featured Young and Vanin. Mandel later returned and won the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 22.08. Kilgore accounted for the Blue and Gray’s final first-place finish with a 59.50 — more than a second before the second place finisher — in the 100-yard breaststroke.

“I thought the team as a whole really raced well, especially the [men’s] team,” Holder said. “They showed a lot of heart in their races. We had some good races and had more wins than we did last year against Delaware.”

The Hoyas will look to build upon this strong start when they return to the pool on Oct. 19. The Blue and Gray will play host to William & Mary and Towson at McCarthy Pool. The meet is scheduled to start at 1 p.m.