Washington & Jefferson College Women Defeat Hiram

For the second consecutive season, the Washington & Jefferson College women’s swimming and diving team tied a school record after capturing its 13th dual meet victory of the season on Saturday.  The Presidents (13-1) defeated Hiram by a 150-93 margin to tie the single-season record for victories. 

In addition, the W&J men’s squad (8-3) racked up a 78-64 triumph to notch its third-straight season with eight dual-meet wins. 

The 2004-2005 and 2007-2008 W&J women’s squads are the only other teams in school history to record 13 wins.  The 2004-05 Presidents finished undefeated, while last year’s team was 13-1 overall. 

The victory was highlighted by freshman Bethany Haver (Akron, Ohio/Harvey S. Firestone), who set a pool record with 243.15 points during her win on the 1-meter diving board.  She was one point shy of automatically qualifying for the NCAA Division III Championships. 

Freshman Brittany Vogel (Butler, Pa./Butler) notched a pair of wins after touching first in the 200 IM (2:33.52) and 200-meter backstroke (2:31.98). 

The men’s team was paced by sophomore Brandon Smith’s (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny) victories in the 200 IM (2:20.71) and 200-meter backstroke (2:20.22). 

Freshman Andy Rish (North East, Pa./Cathedral Prep) captured the 50-meter freestyle (25.24) and swam a leg on the winning 200 medley relay (1:54.67).  Classmate Jonathan Weeks (Donora, Pa./Ringgold) won the 200-meter freestyle (2:04.67) and helped the 200 freestyle relay end the meet with a victory in a time of 1:54.67. 

Senior Brittany Bertoli (Lancaster, Pa./Hempfield) also starred for the W&J women as she won the 200-meter butterfly (2:40.10) and helped the 200 medley relay (2:10.29) to a win.  Freshman Katie Steider (Cochranton, Pa./Meadville) joined Bertoli on the medley relay and also won the 50-meter freestyle (29.32). 

Freshman C.J. Corcoran (Harleysville, Pa./Souderton) was a part of the winning 200 medley relay and then grabbed her own first-place finish in the 200-meter breaststroke (2:51.95).  Sophomore Angela Jones (North Huntingdon, Pa./Norwin) claimed the 3-meter diving competition with 209.30 points. 

Both W&J squads have concluded their dual-meet schedules and will now prepare for the three-day Presidents’ Athletic Conference Championships which begin Thursday, Feb. 12th at Grove City College.  The women’s squad looks to defend its conference title, while the Presidents’ men are hoping to improve upon last year’s third-place showing.