Last weekend, the Georgetown swimming and diving team traveled to New Brunswick, N.J., to compete in a Quad Meet at Rutgers University. In the two-day meet, the Hoyas took on the Scarlet Knights as well as fellow Big East competitors, the Seton Hall Pirates and the Villanova Wildcats. The men’s team outscored the Wildcats 257-96 but fell to the Pirates 224-129. Meanwhile, the women’s team defeated the Pirates 200-151 but fell to both the Scarlet Knights and the Wildcats in 256-97 and 264-83 results, respectively.
“Overall it was a pretty good race,” Head Coach Jamie Holder said. “I thought we raced as well as we have so far this year. It probably was our best meet.”
Despite a few injuries and illnesses, the Hoyas swam strongly. The two-day format also helped to split up the major races, which gave the team time to recuperate in between events.
Strong performances on the men’s side included junior Martin Vanin’s first-place finish in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 51.39. Vanin also contributed to a second-place finish and a time of 1:35.89 in the 200-yard relay with teammates senior Cal Rhode, freshman Arthur Wang and junior William Leach. In the 400-yard individual medley, sophomore Dan Ross finished in second-place with a time of 4:08.69. Wang, with a time of 2:10.09, sophomore Samuel Delise, whose time was 2:11.21 and sophomore Matthew Glockenmeier, who finished in 2:11.69, finished in second, third and fourth places, respectively, in the 200-yard breaststroke.
On the women’s side, sophomore Bailey Page finished fourth in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 52.93. In the women’s 200-yard backstroke, junior Katie Duncalf finished fifth with a time of 2:06.98. Senior Erica Fabbri came in fourth in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 57.62.
The diving squad also competed well. Sophomore Ben Goodfriend won the 3-meter diving event with 263.50 points and junior Jared Vespa-Cooper followed in second place with 239.65 points.
“It was a little disappointing to not come closer to Villanova on the women’s side and Seton Hall on the men’s,” Holder said. “We had some nagging illnesses and injuries, but overall I am pleased with where we are right now.”
The Quad Meet was an early preview of potential Big East competition for the Hoyas, but no post-season predictions can be made this early on.
“I’ve seen things happen at this Quad meet and then things happen at Big East that are totally unrelated, so hopefully more of that happens to some degree,” senior captain Lauren Ward said.
This meet was also valuable preparation for the upcoming Bucknell Invitational beginning Nov. 20. In the next two weeks, the team will practice as normal, but will also enjoy a few days of rest in order to prepare for the matchup.
“We really got through what Coach Holder says is the hardest part and I agree, which is October and the beginning of November,” Ward said. “I think people are going to lay it all on the line and some rest will definitely go a long way. It will be much different than having five dual meets in the span of two weeks.”
