Looking to continue undefeated starts to the season, both the Georgetown University men’s and women’s swimming teams headed up to a weekend competition in Storrs, Conn. against the New Jersey Institute of Technology and University of Connecticut, respectively.
The Georgetown men’s swimming team came away with a resounding 222-78 victory against the Highlanders, while the Georgetown women’s team suffered a 166-126 defeat at the hands of the Huskies on Saturday, Oct. 23.
The men’s team has now won its first three meets of the season. Their score of 222 marked its best of the season; previously, the men’s team had not scored above 130 points. Meanwhile, the defeat to UConn was the women’s team’s first loss of the season. Both Georgetown teams had beaten American University and Howard University earlier in the season.
The UConn women’s swim team previously suffered a close defeat against Big East rival Villanova, the reigning Big East champions, after a strong 2-0 start. This was the first meet of the year for the NJIT men’s team, after its previous meet against La Salle University was postponed.
The men’s team dominated most of its meet, sweeping the podium in eight of the 16 events, while the women’s team finished in the top spot of six events.
The Georgetown men’s team began the meet by finishing in the top three spots of the 400-yard medley relay. Seniors Drew Carbone and Sean Devlin, junior Michael Baldini and first-year Stephen Kim posted a relay time of 3:25.31 to lead the Hoyas to victory.
The Georgetown women’s team received their first win of the meet with a photo finish in the 200-yard freestyle. Senior Lilly Clisham finished with a time of 1:54.86, outpacing the Huskie swimmer Melissa Lowry by 0:00.01.
NJIT finished at the top of the podium for the first time during the meet’s sixth event, the men’s 200-yard freestyle. Highlander swimmer Joshua Franco finished just ahead of Georgetown sophomore Will Barao with a time of 1:42.45, while Barao finished in 1:42.74. Georgetown first-year Jack Brearton completed his race just milliseconds after Barao, finding himself in third place with a time of 1:42.81.
NJIT would only finish one other event in the top spot: the men’s 200-yard butterfly. Ian Horstkamp-Vinekar won the event for the Highlanders posting a time of 1:54.52, over four second faster than the Hoyas’ second place finisher, Barao.
During the second half of the meet, Georgetown’s women’s team went on a winning streak, winning three events in a row, yet it was not enough to make up the difference against the Huskies.
Georgetown first-year Maddie Haley started the winning streak by taking first in the 200-yard backstroke. She finished with a time of 2:05.63, just over a second ahead of UConn’s Caitlin Spencer.
Hoya sophomore Erin Hood maintained Georgetown’s winning ways, finishing with the top time in the women’s 200-yard breaststroke event. Hood finished with a time of 2:24.68, followed closely behind by UConn swimmer Katelyn Walsh, who finished in 2:25.41.
Junior Corey Moon capped off the Hoya’s run with a victory in the 500-yard freestyle. Moon finished with a time of 5:10.65 with junior Ryan Evangelista taking second in the event, followed by senior Lilly Clisham.
The final event won by the Georgetown women’s team was the 200-yard individual medley. All three UConn swimmers were disqualified, giving the Hoyas the top two spots. Hood finished first with a time of 2:08.21 and sophomore Hailey Harkins finished in 2:15.49.
Up next for the Hoyas is a matchup for both squads against Big East rival Villanova. The matchup is the first for the Wildcats’ men’s team, while the Villanova women’s squad will look to continue an undefeated start. The Georgetown women’s team will face off against a Villanova women’s team that has won every Big East championship since 2014. The meet is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 30 at McCarthy Pool.
