The Georgetown swimming and diving team ended the first semester with its most anticipated dual meet of the year, as the men faced off against Big East rival Villanova University and the women competed against Mansfield University.

The women won by a large margin, taking their part of the meet 244-34, but the men fell to their Big East foes 175-125. Overall, the Hoyas put up a solid effort in the pool, taking 22 of the events on the day.

Head Coach Steve Cartwright was quite satisfied with the effort.

“It’s the last meet of the semester before we go into the big training phase,” he said.

On the men’s side, Paul Quincy won the 100 and 500 yard freestyle. Quincy, a freshman, also qualified for the Big East championships with a victory in the 100 backstroke. Sophomore Victor Lopez-Cantera also had a huge day for the Hoyas, winning the 100 and 200 butterfly, while junior Thomas Graham took the 100 breaststroke.

Despite the men’s loss, Cartwright saw promise from his team.

“I was satisfied with the way we swam and our times,” he said. “Villanova was just the better team that day. For some of the team to be swimming faster than they did at the Patriot Invitational, it’s good.”

Reflecting on the men’s season thus far, Cartwright put it plainly.

“The guys’ team has had some hard-fought meets, with some close losses,” he said. “We know that we’ll beat them at the Big East [championship].”

On the other side, the women had a strong showing, dominating Mansfield, although they participated in a number of different events. Samantha Kietlinski continued her phenomenal freshman campaign, winning the 50, 100, and 200 m freestyles.

“The women are having a great season,” Cartwright said. “Every meet, they’re going into it strong. We were able to swim some off events and get some events that the ladies’ don’t usually swim.”

In addition to the victory, senior Lindsay Vickroy (200 freestyle and 100 fly) and junior Megan Harvey (500 freestyle) earned spots in the Big East championship. Overall, the women took 16 events on the day, including victories in the 100 and 200 breaststroke by freshman Laura Noisten and a win in the 1000 freestyle by freshman Michelle Pliskin.

aintaining their high level of performance over the next month will be a challenging but crucial aspect of the season, especially with the lengthy holiday break fast approaching.

“The team has to start prepping for final exams, as we go into finals next week,” Cartwright said. “During the stress of final exams, we have to maintain our strength and intensity. It is important for them to stay on their training regimen over break, so when we get back in January, they’re ready to go for training camp in Florida.”

Cartwright will use these dual meets as a sign of encouragement – a barometer for how well his team is doing as they get closer to the Big East championship meet in February.

“It’s a dual meet, not conference championships,” he said. “Swimming fast in February and letting it all out at conference championships is what it’s all about. If you can pick up a dual meet win during the season, that’s great . But it’s about swimming fast and achieving lifetime best performances at Big East. We want to enter every meet and add more qualifiers for more events. Our ultimate goal is the whole team.”

As the semester closes and the season hangs in the balance, one thing is for certain: Cartwright and his team are inching closer to that ultimate goal. “