George Washington University Athletics
George Washington University
Rider
GW Women's Swimming & Diving Downs Rider on Saturday
10/8/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming and Diving
Check out what @GWSwimJames had to say after our strong home opener this afternoon! #RaiseHigh pic.twitter.com/yyVsug2igO
- GW Swimming & Diving (@GWSwimDive) October 8, 2016
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 Hample in 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.
Players Mentioned
