Georgetown could not keep pace with Villanova on Saturday as both the men’s and women’s teams extended their historic losing streaks.
The women’s team lost its fifth in a row, 173-61.Now 1-5 overall and 0-2 in the Big East, the Georgetown women have not won a dual meet since their first of the year, against George Washington on Oct. 21. The men’s team lost 167-67 to remain winless, with a 0-6 overall record. Although records before the 1999-2000 season are inaccessible, neither team has performed this poorly for at least the past seven years.
Even as the teams probed new depths, Head Coach Bethany Bower was pleased with the Hoyas’ performance, and said she looks forward to the Big East championships.
“We hadn’t swum in a dual meet for a long time. And coming off a break, they looked great,” Bower said. “I think they’re excited and motivated for the second half [of the season in January].”
For Villanova, the win was nothing out of the ordinary; the Wildcats have a rich history of NCAA competitors and Big East Champions.
“They were resting; they were wearing championship suits. They were doing everything to get that opportunity to win,” Bower said. “We were swimming well, but we’re looking to the end, to the Big East. . We kept with them without having to rest. We stayed with them.”
She noted that the Hoyas faced an uphill battle in taking on the women’s team in particular. “Their women are one of the top programs in the Big East,” Bower said. “We knew what they had and we knew they’d be tough. The girls swam really well, especially after a week of resting for [the Patriot Invitational] and having two days to swim and then going home [for Thanksgiving].”
Although overmatched, the Hoya men and women each swept one event at the meet. Freshman Wes Going took first place in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 54:32. Behind him was sophomore Goran Bistric and freshman James LiVolsi, who claimed second- and third-place finishes.
On the women’s side, the Hoyas dominated the 100-yd breaststroke, taking the top four finishes. Laura Stark led Georgetown with a time of 1:10.27, followed by sophomore Christina DiNapoli, freshman Emma Porteus and senior co-captain Laura Sytnyk.
Other notable performances included sophomore co-captains Daniel Robinson and David Ballinger, who finished second in the 200-yd individual medley and the 100-yd butterfly, respectively.
On the women’s side, freshman Laura Alito turned in a second-place finish in the 100-yd butterfly with a time of 58:50, and freshman diver Maija Paegle turned in two third-place finishes for the Hoyas in the 1-meter and 3m events, with scores of 152.10 and 137.10.
“They swam and dove well. Everybody was on a high when they left that pool. . Everybody walked out of that pool thinking that they did their best.”
Bower said that a more difficult schedule was the primary reason for the teams’ struggles. “We have a tougher schedule this year. We never had a Villanova on our schedule [before],” she said. “We’re swimming tough teams, and that’s just a slightly different schedule. I’m fairly confident in the second half, with the exception of West Virginia, which is one of the top-ranked teams in the country. But we’ve got some meets that are certainly winnable in the second half.”
Georgetown will travel to Puerto Rico in the first week of January for some intensive training. “It’s a tough week both mentally and physically,” Bower said, “and the kids give up their break to do it.
“It’s an opportunity for us to swim in a different environment, to train in long course. We always come off that well, and it’s a nice change of venue, change of environment. Swimming outdoors – the kids really like it.”
The trip to sunny San Juan worked wonders for last year’s women, who defeated six teams in four meets, with no losses in the second half of their season.
The Hoyas will jump right back into competition once they return, traveling to Morgantown, W.Va., on Jan. 14 for a meet against St. Bonaventure (men: 1-3, women 2-3) and mighty West Virginia (men: 4-0, 1-0 Big East; women: 3-2, 0-1).
