The Georgetown swimming and diving teams kicked off the second half of its season with its first ever match-up against Duquesne on Saturday in Pittsburgh. The men’s squad preserved its undefeated record with a 110-94 victory, while the women’s squad suffered an unexpected defeat, 121-79.
The men’s team dominated the opposition, including a sweep in the 1,000-yard freestyle with freshman Brendan Griffin leading the Hoyas, edging out junior Jim McLaughlin by just under a second with a 10:10.22. Sophomore Edmund Caulfield rounded out the top three with a time of 10:27.67.
After winning eight of the first nine events, Georgetown switched to exhibition for the remainder of the meet, in which they did not compete for points.
“They’re a well-balanced team,” Head Coach Beth Bower said. “It’s hard to find a weakness in the men’s program.”
Sophomore Shodai Enters and senior Chris Lengle were double winners for Georgetown. Enters placed first in the 200-yard freestyle in 1:50.53, with senior Rob Johnston and freshman Mike Taylor following in third and fourth place, respectively. Enters also led the field by over three seconds in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 48.93.
Lengle finished first in both the 50-yard freestyle and as anchor of the Hoyas’ 400-yard medley relay, which blew out second-place finishers from Duquesne by almost 10 seconds, with a time of 3:42.92.
Junior Brian Evangelista also tallied a first-place finish in the 200-yard butterfly for Georgetown, with a time of 2:01.90. Freshman Brad Perez touched just behind him, in 2:04.59.
McLaughlin cruised into first place in the 500-yard freestyle in 5:00, with senior captain Will Miller touching second at 5:10.49.
The women’s squad got off to a solid start, with Georgetown’s team of freshmen Michelle Herd and Diane Foglizzo and senior captains Caragh Moynihan and Amanda Anderson blowing out Duquesne by over 20 seconds in the 400-yard medley relay with a time of 4:11.89.
However, after losing four of its members who are studying abroad this semester, the women’s squad lacked the depth it utilized earlier on in the season. Also to the disadvantage of Georgetown, there was no diving competition at Duquesne, which has been one of the Hoyas’ main strengths over the course of the season.
“[Duquesne] really surprised me,” Bower said. “I feel like I took them for granted a bit. They swam out of their minds.”
Foglizzo was a double winner for the Hoyas, taking first in the 200-yard individual medley in 2:17.11 and the 200-yard breaststroke in 2:33.78. Other top performances came from junior Erin Lenahan, who touched out Moynihan to win the 50-yard freestyle in 26.04. oynihan also took second in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 55.62.
Sophomore Colleen Newman, junior Lauren Moynihan and sophomore Erin Kehoe dominated the 1,000-yard freestyle, going two-three-four, respectively, and Herd’s 2:11.14 gained her a victory in the 200-yard backstroke, but a sweep by Duquesne in the 200-yard freestyle and Georgetown’s lack of first-place finishes allowed the Dukes to surpass the Hoyas.
“We practice so well, I think we forgot how to race,” Bower said. “We’re capable. We just have to bring it out of them. They’re looking extremely strong.”
Before facing tough competition including Drexel, Delaware and Boston College, which will lead Georgetown into the Big East Championships and ECAC’s, the Hoyas take on St. Francis College (N.Y.) and the women’s squad of St. Francis University (Pa.) Saturday at 2 p.m. in Yates Field House.
