The strong starts of the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams continued as each team’s record improved to 3-0 after defeating the Howard Sharks on Dec. 1. Coming off of a short break, both teams found their groove. The men beat Howard 122-84, while the women did even better, bringing home a victory of 125-68.
According to Head Coach Bethany Bower, the biggest difference between Howard and Georgetown was depth. “Howard as a team right now has good swimmers, but no depth. Depth is something that we have been fortunate to have this season. Especially on the men’s side, we are at a distinct advantage – something we haven’t had in a long time. The women’s team is the reverse; with some real good swimmers, but not as much depth,” Bower said.
One highlight for the men’s team was the 1,000 freestyle. Junior Jim McLaughlin, freshman Brendan Griffin and sophomore Edmund Caulfield posted the three best times. Junior Bryan Evangelista was a triple winner on the day; he took first in the 400m, 200m freestyle and 100m fly. Senior Chris Lengle and freshman Stephen Ferguson swept both of their races. The 400 medley team of senior Matt O’Connor, senior Will Miller, Evangelista and Lengle swam well to finish in first place with a time of 3:39.07.
The women’s team earned first place in nearly every event and even switched to exhibition part way through the meet. Junior Liz D’Auria swept both the 50m and 100m freestyle events, finishing in 25.40 and 55.73 respectively.
Senior Amanda Anderson also swam well, taking first in the 1,000m and 500m freestyle. Like the men, the 400m medley relay team of D’Auria, freshman Liz Foglizzo, freshman Michelle Hurd and senior Caragh Moynihan finished first.
Sophomore divers Kathryn Harrison and Julianna Bonilla both had great meets; although they competed completely on an exhibition basis, they qualified for the NCAA Regional meet, earning the opportunity to go to the NCAA National meet.
“We are well ahead of what we thought we could do. This is the toughest team I have coached at Georgetown; they love to work hard and they have goals. I love what they do,” Bower said.
One definite goal for the season is to finish undefeated, but it will be difficult with a schedule that features the likes of Drexel and Delaware. “I would like to finish with only one or two losses. I would also like to have strong showing in the ECAC Championships and Big East Championship,” Bower said. Both of those competitions will be in February.
The depth of the team has been evident in every meet, but one potential concern will be the loss of some swimmers for the second semester.
The women’s team will be losing four swimmers to study abroad programs, while the men will loose three.
During the upcoming Christmas break, the team will team will travel to Ada Moranda, Fla., from Dec. 30 to Jan. 7 to train. They will practice five hours per day.
The Hoyas will next compete on Jan. 12 when they travel to Duquesne for a dual meet at 2 p.m.
