The George Washington women’s swimming team opened the 2014 portion of its schedule on a high note as the squad won the Rhode Island Invitational on Saturday afternoon.
Fueled by three event victories and 26 top-five finishes on the second day of competition, the Colonials tallied 414 points throughout the two days en route to a first-place finish at the Rams’ Tootell Aquatics Center.
Junior Janica Lee took home top honors in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:07.56, and senior Remy Neville finished in third in 1:09.46 followed by sophomore Mara Debnekoff in fourth in 1:09.95. The Colonials nearly swept the top-five spots in the 1,000-yard freestyle as seniorCaroline Myers won with a time of 10:15.86. Sophomore Madison Reinker (10:34.91) took home second, followed by classmate Emma Gaquin(10:49.18) in fourth and senior Taylor Cole (11:04.46) in fifth.
The rookie duo of Carly Whitmer and Lauren Law claimed the top two spots in the 200-yard butterfly as Whitmer finished in 2:07.19 and Law touched the wall in 2:08.11.
In the 400-yard individual medley, senior Remy Neville took home second in 4:39.88 and Law finished in a close third in 4:40.61. Whitmer (58.01), junior Morgan Zebley (58.75) and classmate Bianca Valencia (59.81) earned second, third and fourth places in the 100 fly, respectively.
Lee recorded a second-place finish in the 200 breast in 2:26.31 and Neville finished in third in 2:27.41. Senior Sydney Saunders tied for third in the 100-yard freestyle in 54.25 seconds and Myers earned third in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:55.50.
In the 100-yard backstroke, senior Lindsay Moore touched the wall in 1:02.52 for fourth place. Freshman Hanna Schaefer and Moore finished in a tight third and fourth places in the 200 back as Schaefer clocked in at 2:12.14 and Moore finished in 2:12.55.
The 200-yard medley relay team of Moore, Lee, Zebley and senior Sloan Saunders finished third with a time of 1:51.845, while the squad of Schaefer, Debnekoff, Valencia and sophomore Kally Vanderbilt followed in fifth place in 1:54.43. The Colonials then earned second and fourth in the 400 free relay to wrap the meet. Law and seniors Melissa Fernandez, Sloan Saunders and Sydney Saunders teamed up for a time of 3:35.65 while Lee, Neville, Vanderbilt and Whitmer finished in 3:41.82.
Host Rhode Island finished the invitational in second with 394 points, followed by Massachusetts in third with 384 points.
GW returns to the pool on Saturday, Jan. 18 for its home finale and Senior Day meet. Action against crosstown rival Georgetown inside the Smith Center Pool is slated for 1 p.m.
The George Washington men's swimming team finished second at the Rhode Island Invitational to open the 2014 portion of its schedule on Saturday.
Senior Jake Mortensen paced the Colonials with two individual victories and freshman Liam Huffman and junior Goran Koprivnjak each won an individual and relay event as GW finished second at the two-day meet at the Rams' Tootell Aquatic Center with a total of 351 points.
Mortensen first claimed the top spot in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 53.07 seconds and freshman Ryan O'Malley earned fourth place in 56.82 seconds. The Albuquerque, N.M., native then won the 200 back as he clocked in at 1:54.02.
Rookie Liam Huffman won the 1,000-yard freestyle in 9:49.56, and senior Spencer Neff finished in second in 9:58.73 followed by freshman Nick Smagula in fifth in 10:07.04. Koprivnjak earned first place in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 1:54.63 and freshmen Matt McPherson (2:00.45) and Ben Fitch (2:00.53) finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
The team of Koprivnjak, Huffman, junior Adam Rabe and freshman Bogdan Balteanu won the 400 free relay in 3:11.09, and McPherson, Fitch, O'Malley and junior Joe Lipworth finished in fourth in 3:20.61.
Balteanu earned a second-place finish in the 200-yard freestyle in 1:45.61, while Huffman finished in 1:46.81 for fourth place and Jordan Sharples finished in fifth in 1:47.33. Rabe took home second in the 100-yard breaststroke as he touched the wall in 1:00.26, then earned second in the 200 breast with a time of 2:10.23.
In the 400-yard individual medley Koprivnjak (2:08.56) and McPherson (4:15.59) finished second and third, respectively. Balteanu was GW's top finisher in the 100 free as he finished in 48.43 seconds for a fourth-place finish. Mortensen, Rabe, Koprivnjak and Balteanu teamed up for a second-place finish in the 200-yard medley relay with a time of 1:38.13.
Massachusetts won the meet with 594 points while Rhode Island finished third with 161 points.
GW returns to the pool on Saturday, Jan. 18 for its home finale and Senior Day meet. Action against crosstown rival Georgetown inside the Smith Center Pool is slated for 1 p.m.
