George Washington University Athletics
Men’s Swimming & Diving Tops A-10 Preseason Poll
9/27/2018 1:33:00 PM | Men's Swimming and Diving
Men tabbed favorites to win third straight A-10 title; Women picked fourth
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - George Washington men's swimming and diving was picked as the favorite to claim a third straight Atlantic 10 title in a vote of the conference's coaches, released Thursday.
Coming off back-to-back A-10 titles, the Colonials received 61 points and seven of eight first-place votes to edge George Mason (52) and La Salle (50) in the annual preseason poll.
On the women's side, GW was picked fourth out of 11 teams. The Colonials earned a third-place finish at last season's conference meet, improving in the standings for the third straight year.
This season's A-10 Championships will be held Feb. 20-23, 2019, at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio.
"Preseason polls are fun, but we have a long road ahead before it's time to compete at the A-10 Championships," head coach Brian Thomas said. "I look forward to working really hard over the next five months to put ourselves in the best position to compete for conference titles."
The GW men bring back nine who earned medals at the 2018 A-10 Championships, highlighted by returning individual conference champions Moritz Fath (1,650 free) and Emils Pone (400 IM). The Colonials, who will have to replace NCAA qualifier Gustav Hokfelt, have also added nine first-years to the squad.
The GW women will look to continue their improvement with nine returning A-10 individual scorers. Emily Zhang is back for her senior season after winning six medals, including individual gold in the 200-yard freestyle. The squad also adds nine first-years and Arizona State transfer Meghan Burton to the mix.
GW officially opened its season last weekend at the CSCAA Open Water National Championship. The Buff and Blue's first traditional meet is the TYR Fall Classic Presented by Swiss Timing at Florida International, which begins Oct. 5 in North Miami, Fla.
Players Mentioned
