Swimcloud

Navy Sweeps Army

An overflow crowd at Lejeune Hall that included three-time Olympic Gold Medalist Rowdy Gaines in Annapolis witnessed the Navy swimming and diving teams extend the two longest winning streaks in Army-Navy sports history with a pair of victories Thursday night.  The Navy women’s team posted its 27th win in a row with a 234.5-65.5 victory, while the Navy men’s squad notched its 25th consecutive victory with a 213-86 win.

The two Navy programs combined to win 29 events, place at least first and second 22 times –– including in three of the four relay races –– and claim the top-three finishers in 10 events.  The Mids also established five school records, tied or broke 12 meet records, set three Lejeune Hall records and bettered one Patriot League record.  Additionally, 18 different Mids won at least one of the 28 individual events contested on the night.

“Tonight was special on a lot of levels,” said Navy men’s swimming head coach Bill Roberts.  “Obviously for the athletes, it is a big night for them.  We don’t have to tell them; they know this is a big night for them.  But to also have the support from the Naval Academy, the Naval Academy Athletic Association, the Brigade, all of the family and friends who came out really makes a difference.  I can’t put into words the gratitude we have for everyone who supports of the program whether they are hear tonight or supported us from home.

“The atmosphere was great.  We had everyone in the stands, lots of Army folks, lots of Navy folks, lots of alumni swimmers and divers, former coaches and officer representatives; it puts a warm feeling in your heart knowing they support these midshipmen and cadets as they did.”

“Fantastic atmosphere,” said Navy women’s swimming head coach John Morrison.  “It always is.  We had great support from the Brigade, the parents were awesome, the alumni swimmers and divers came back for this.  It was just great.

“Overall, I was so proud of our team, each and every one of them.  They came out and fought hard in every race like it was 0-0 each time they got up on the blocks.  That’s a testament to their hard work.  There was a good three and half months of training where it put it all in for one another.  They really swam for each other.  Just couldn’t be happier.  Everything just really clocked for them.”

“What an amazing meet!” said Navy diving coach Rich MacDonald.  “It seemed every time I looked at the scoreboard it showed a new record from the swimmers,  I also was extremely happy with the performances of the divers.  To sweep every event is pretty amazing.  They competed great and I was very proud of all of them.”

Included among the event winners were Lauren Barber (Fr., New Wilmington, Pa.), who won the women’s 200 free (1:46.84), 200 breast (2:12.15) and 200 IM (2:00.77) events, and Marlin Brutkiewicz (Jr., Mobile, Ala.), who touched the wall first in the men’s 100 breast (52.98), 200 breast (1:56.00) and 200 IM (1:48.81) races.  

The evening couldn’t have started off any better for the Mids as both Navy teams placed first and second in the opening 200 medley relay races.  The victorious women’s team of Biz Graeff (So., Canton, Ohio), Barber, Hannah Briant (Fr., Brielle, N.J.) and Maddi Thompson (Sr., Jersey Shore, Pa.) posted a time of 1:39.22 to set a new Navy (old record was 1:41.37), Army-Navy Meet (1:41.71), Lejeune Hall (1:40.23) and Patriot League record (1:41.12).  The Navy men’s team of David Carlson (Sr., Brielle, N.J.), Brutkiewicz, Jonathan Debaugh (Sr., Conroe, Texas) and Connor Davis (So., Shelton, Conn.) would win its 200 medley relay in a meet record-tying time of 1:27.37.

Jenny Smith (So., Columbus, Ohio) and Alex Nickell (Sr., Loveland, Ohio) each put on strong performances in winning the 1000 freestyle races for the second year in a row.  Smith posted a time of 9:51.96 to win the women’s race by six seconds and set new school and meet records (both were 9:55.04), while Nickell broke his own meet record (9:08.45) with a time of 9:02.65 that won him the race by nearly 10 seconds.

Barber began her trio of individual event wins by setting a new meet record (1:49.03) in winning the 200 freestyle, with Joseph Jaime (So., San Antonio, Texas) winning the men’s edition of the race with a time of 1:36.65.

After Army West Point’s Kelly Hamilton won the women’s 100 backstroke by four-tenths of a second with a new school and meet record time of 54.41, Carlson set a new Navy (47.61) and meet (48.37) record in winning the men’s 100 back in a time of 47.59.

Ellen Bradford (Sr., Knoxville, Tenn.) set a pool record (1:01.47) in leading a 1-2-3 finish for Navy in the women’s 100 breaststroke, with Brutkiewicz earning the first of his three wins in the 100 breast.

Rachael Dudley (Sr.,. Hoschton, Ga.) posted a 1:59.23 to win the women’s 200 fly by well over two seconds, then a time of 1:44.08 by men’s team captain Debaugh gave him the victory in the men’s 200 fly by 2.6 seconds.

The best race of the first half of the meet followed in the women’s 50 freestyle.  Army West Point’s Molly Mucciarone holds her school’s record in the 50 free (22.85), won the event at the 2014 Army-Navy meet (23.17), placed second in the event at the 2015 Patriot League Championship and had posted the best time by a Patriot League swimmer in the 50 free this year with her clocking of 23.03.  Navy’s Kenzie Margroum (Jr., Fort Thomas, Ky.), who had posted a top time of 23.27 (the No. 3 time in the league), had a great start to the race and kept Mucciarone at bay throughout the final strokes to win the race in a meet record (22.97) time of 22.94.  Additionally, while Mucciarone was concerning herself with Margroum, Navy’s Annabel Tomes (So., San Diego, Calif.), whose top time in the event this year (23.90) ranked 12th in the league, was able to edge Murcciarone by one-hundredth of a second for second place with her clocking of 23.09.

Closing out the first half of the meet for the Navy women’s team was Julie Jesse (Sr., Edwardsburg, Mich.) leading a 1-2-3 finish by the Mids on the one-meter springboard with her score of 246.45.  In the men’s three-meter competition, Joe Kaszubowski (Fr., Whitefish Bay, Wis.) posted a score of 328.20 to also pace a 1-2-3 finish for Navy.

The second half of the evening began with Thompson recording a time of 49.57 to win the women’s 100 freestyle, with Army’s Chris Szekely, who just prior to the break won the 50 free in a time of 20.05, winning the 100 free in a clocking of 43.77.

Navy swept the 200 backstroke events –– Casey Lawson (Fr., Spring Lake Heights, N.J.) winning the women’s race in a posting of 1:58.37, Carlson winning the men’s race in a new Navy (1:45.07) and meet (1:45.81) record time of 1:43.78 –– then the Mids finished first (Barber and Brutkiewicz, respectively), second and third in both 200 breaststroke races.

Smith doubled her victory total on the night by winning the 500 freestyle in a meet record (4:51.53) time of 4:48.57, then Tom Duvall (Sr., Durham, N.J.) won the men’s 500 free in a time of 4:17.32.  The Mids then again placed first, second and third in the 100 fly with Briant pacing the women’s swimmers (54.23) and Hayes McCullagh (Jr., Charlotte, N.C.) streaking down lane nine to win the men’s 100 fly in a time of 47.71.

Navy divers also claimed the second pair of events contested in the dual.  Jesse posted a score of 273.08 to win the women’s three meter and Nate Belch (So., Tucson, Ariz.) earned the victory in the men’s one meter with his score of 315.75.

The final individual event races of the night saw Barber and Brutkiewicz cap their evenings with their respective 200 individual medley victories.

Navy controlled the women’s 400 freestyle relay from start to finish as the Mids finished first and second in the race, with both teams bettering the meet (3:23.08) and pool (3:22.18) standards with time of 3:21.60 –– Ally Warnimont (Fr., Winston-Salem, N.C.), Tomes, Briant and Olivia Morrell (Jr., Albuquerque, N.M.) –– and 3:21.95 –– Margroum, Molly Keunstler (So., Villa Park, Ill.), Hanna Gillcrist (Jr., Burlington, Ky.) and Thompson –– and defeating the top team from Army by nearly four seconds.

Those first 31 events of the evening served as a prelude to the best race of the night, the men’s 400 freestyle relay.  Navy held a slight lead after its opening swimmer, Jaime, posted a time of 44.25 for his 100 yards, but the Mids were behind by nine-tenths of a second at the midpoint of the race.  Zachary Piedt (Fr., Fort Mill, S.C.) was able to close the gap for the Mids to 53-hundredths of a second after his 100 yards, and that led to anchor swimmer Duvall entering the pool against Evin Rude.  

Duvall, whose only individual event of the night was the 500 free, winnowed the margin down to 38-hundredths of a second after 50 yards, then was only slightly behind after 75 yards.  A great turn propelled Duvall into a near tie with Rude coming off the wall, then he continued to accelerate all of the way to the finish that gave the Mids a 23-hundredths of a second victory.  Navy’s overall time of 2:57.05 broke the meet record of 2:58.45.

“That was certainly one we will talk about for many years,” said Roberts of the 400 free relay team and in particular Duvall’s effort.  “That kind of embodies what we are after, which is to just get up and race no matter where you are in the race.  There is always something from within you can summon, and Tom just showed to 39, 40 other guys that we all have that capability in us.

Navy’s two teams, which each improved to 8-0 this season, will next compete in a dual meet Jan. 9 at North Carolina.

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