Three meets in four days is no easy task, even with a complete regimen of training.
Such was the case for the Georgetown swimming and diving teams, however, as the Hoyas participated in a trio of events over a four-day span that saw strong individual performances lead to a sweep against American University.
Conversely, losses at the hands of George Washington and Bowling Green, as well as a split with Rider, tempered an otherwise successful weekend.
“We looked at our three meets in four days as a dress rehearsal for Big East,” Georgetown swimming Head Coach Jack Leavitt said of the schedule as a precursor to the conference championships.
The Blue and Gray’s stint of competition began with a cross-town trip to George Washington University last Friday. Although the women fell to both the Colonials (158-126) and Falcons (182-103), and the men’s squad lost to George Washington (188.5-105.5), the Hoyas came away with an array of strong individual efforts on both sides.
Freshman Terry Johnson prevailed in the men’s 200-yard butterfly, touching the wall with a time of 1:54.97. Additionally, senior diver Jared Cooper-Vespa took first in the 3-meter dive with a 285.85 score and second in the 1-meter dive, scoring 251.60.
On the women’s side, Molly Fitzpatrick and Katie Duncalf triumphed in their respective competitions, as Fitzpatrick won her 200-yard breaststroke event with a time of 2:21.81, while Duncalf took first after touching the wall in 2:03.76 in the 200-yard backstroke race.
The following day saw the Blue and Gray dominate the Eagles of American University at Georgetown’s McCarthy Pool, winning an impressive 24 out of 26 total events on Senior Day.
The men’s team took the meet by a tally of 141-78, and the women prevailed 151-83 in a duo of decisive victories.
Mainstays Fitzpatrick, 100-yard breaststroke, and Duncalf, 100-yard backstroke, both recorded pool records with times of 1:05.58 and 56.84 respectively. Perhaps the most impressive performance of the afternoon came from the trio of Laine Morgan, Lauren Henasey and Madeline Loniewski swept the field in the 100-yard IM event, finishing at 1:01.01, 1:03.87 and 1:04.14 respectively. The sweep headlined a meet in which the Hoyas took first and second place in 10 of the 11 total events.
The men’s squad posted an even more complete domination of the Eagles, taking the first three positions in four events, including the 50-yard freestyle, 100-yard freestyle, and 100-yard backstroke. Cooper-Vespa continued his successful weekend with a pair of first place finishes in the one- and three-meter dives. Freshman diver Elizabeth Miller took first in both women’s dives.
The Hoyas took to the pool on MLK Day for their third and final competition of the weekend — a match against Rider University at McCarthy pool. Triumphing in all 11 competitions, the women completed a clean sweep of their Falcon opponents, who fell to the Hoyas 143-82.
Sophomore Jacob Kohlhoff shone for the men, placing first in the 500-yard freestyle, while Cooper-Vespa again took first in the three-meter dive. The senior diver reflected on his performance over the weekend, crediting diving Head Coach Michael Tober.
“He does a great job this time of year of lighting a fire in us,” Kohlhoff said of his coach. “You
have to go out there and prepare like Big East is tomorrow. That’s really the mentality on the pool deck.”
For her performances over the weekend, which included a duo of McCarthy Pool records, two
team wins, and three first-place finishes, Duncalf received the honor of Big East Female Swimming and Diving Athlete of the Week.
“I am very humbled. It’s an honor to be named Swimmer of the Week. I was shocked when Jack told me yesterday. I was more so filled with emotions from the weekend, just from it being my Senior [Day] and last home meet,” Duncalf said.
Next up for the Blue and Gray is a trip to Philadelphia to take on Drexel in what will be Georgetown’s fourth competition in eight days.
“Going into Drexel is another really tough test for us, having to drive up, race and drive back all in one day,” Leavitt said. “We’ll use it as an obstacle that’s an opportunity to see how fast we can go and seize it and get us ready for Championships”.
The meet is set to take place at 1:00 p.m. this Saturday in Philadelphia, Penn.
