George Washington put together a pair of victories against Rider on Saturday.
George Washington Press Release
WASHINGTON - The George Washington women's swimming and diving squad posted a dominating performance on Saturdayafternoon, winning all but one event to defeat Rider in the Colonials' home opener at the Charles E. Smith Center Pool.
"The women have really put together a strong start to the season," said second-year head coach James Winchester. "To start off the season with a 3-1 record and to get a good upset win last weekend and to carry that momentum into here at home today was very good."
Sophomore Emily Zhang led the Colonials, grabbing four of the squad's 15 victories on the day. Zhang teamed up with junior Abigail Fusco, senior Lauren Law and freshman Lynn Zhang to begin the day with a triumph in the 200 medley relay (1:48.82). The team of sophomore Isobel Walker, freshmen Courtney Coghill and Alli Lapps and junior Hannah Kopydlowski took second in that same event (1:52.28).
Emily Zhang then grabbed individual triumphs in the 100 breaststroke (1:07.15) and the 200 breast (2:25.10). Coghill took second in the latter with a time of 2:29.79.
Zhang closed the meet helping freshmen Sydney Melnick and Shanna Colyar and sophomore Lucy Castro touch the wall first in the 400 freestyle relay (3:41.80). The team of Lynn Zhang, senior Selin Ozturk, Walker and Kimberly White placed second in that event (3:42.81).
Fusco also put together a strong day individually, taking first in the 100 backstroke (58.31) as Lapps came in right behind in second (1:00.25). Fusco and Lapps later competed another one-two finish in the 200 back, posting times of 2:11.43 and 2:12.75, respectively.
Castro tallied a first-place finish in the 1,000 free (10:36.35) ahead of rookie Emily Hamplein second (10:58.53). GW later swept the 500 free with Castro leading the way in first (5:10.12), Ozturk (5:10.68) in second and Hample (5:24.56) in third.
Rookie Jackie Torrez continued the stellar start to her career with a trio of top finishes - all three one-two finishes with senior Lauren Law. Torrez grabbed a top finish in the 200 butterfly (2:07.22) followed by Law in second (2:11.36). Then duo again finished in succession in the 100 fly with Torrez clocking in at 58.60 and Law in 59.31. Torrez then won the 200 IM (2:10.33) followed closely by Law in second (2:11.42).
GW's final top finishes in the swimming events came from Ozturk and Kopydlowski. Ozturk's first top finish came in the 200 free (1:55.40) with Lynn Zhang coming in second (1:58.88). Ozturk later won the 100 free (53.18) just ahead of Lynn Zhang in second (53.85).
The Colonials also excelled on the boards on Saturday as sophomore Miranda Simon took first in the 3-meter events with a personal best score of 240.08. Freshman Gillian Chowske took second in the event (190.20), besting her previous mark.
In 1-meter action, Simon grabbed second with another personal best score of 231.23, and junior Iman Lee took third with a personal best 191.25.
"I'm really impressed with performances today across the board, all of our classes, all of our women," said Winchester. "I think my biggest highlight today was on the boards. I think we did a really nice job with some good career bests today and it bodes well for hopefully greater success down the road."
In just the second weekend of competition, the Colonials have seen stellar performances from a strong rookie class.
"I think our women have done a really great job of integrating the freshmen into the culture of our program," said Winchester. "It's always a challenge early in the season to get the freshmen acclimated to college and the different standards that are involved. Our women have really stepped up and our upperclassmen have created a very tight-knit community very quickly and it shows with their efforts in practice and on race day."
The Colonials improve to 3-1 in dual meet action in 2016-17 and return to the pool on Saturday, Oct. 29, to host Howard at the Charles E. Smith Center Pool.
WASHINGTON - The George Washington men's swimming and diving team was edged by Rider on Saturday afternoon in the Colonials' home opener at the Charles E. Smith Center Pool.
GW posted a strong day in the pool against the five-time MAAC Champion Broncs, but were edged, 143.5-140.5.
The Buff and Blue tallied eight first-place finishes on the day.
"I think from last week it was definitely a good increase in overall engagement and passion toward each other and their swims," said second-year head coach James Winchester. "This week there was a much better belief in each other and belief in our abilities despite the fact that we're tired. They put together a phenomenal performance today and I'm very happy. It's a good spring board for success later in the season."
Junior Gustav Hokfelt, seniors Andrea Bolognesi and Ben Fitch and sophomore Alexander Auster teamed up to begin the meet with a first-place finish in the 200 medley relay (1:33.06). The team of freshman Emils Pone, senior Bogdan Balteanu, sophomore Josh Monacelli and junior Adam Drury took second in that event (1:36.47).
Freshman Alex Cronin tallied a pair of individual victories in the 1,000 freestyle (9:43.98) and the 500 free on the day. Classmates Max Forstenhaeusler and Andrew Cho also posted wins on Saturday. Forstenhaeusler touched the wall first in 47.15 in the 100 free ahead of Auster, who finished in a tie for third (47.96). Auster later won the 50 free in 21.41. Cho won the 200 back with a time of 1:50.41 to break into the program's all-time top 10 list.
Cho continued a strong day with a second-place finish in the 200 IM (1:56.44) ahead of Pone in third (1:57.33).
Bolognesi added an individual victory in the 100 breaststroke (56.76) and was followed by Balteanu in third (1:00.54). Bolognesi narrowly missed another victory in the 100 butterfly, tallying a runner-up performance in a time of 50.0.
Monacelli's performance in the 200 breast (2:11.30) rounded out GW's race victories on the day.
Fitch and Hokfelt grabbed second-place in the 200 fly (1:56.54) and 100 back (50.64), respectively. Forstenhaeusler added third-place finishes in the 200 free (1:43.06) and 100 fly (51.73) to wrap GW's top-three performances.
"Our culture is really developing to make sure that every person takes care of and supports everyone else," said Winchester. "I know for these freshmen coming in it's definitely a big step up in expectation and a big step up in performance day in day out, but our upperclassmen are supporting them day by day and it's really turing into a very special group. I think we're setting up for a very strong championship season."
The Colonials return to the pool on Saturday, Oct. 29, to host Howard at the Charles E. Smith Center Pool.
