Saturday, February 22
Geneva, OH
ALL DAY
George Washington University
vs
Atlantic 10 Championships
A-10 Champs: Women's Swimming & Diving Celebrates First Title
2/22/2020 11:01:00 PM | Women's Swimming and Diving
Colonials secured four medals Saturday to clinch historic crown
GENEVA, Ohio - GW women's swimming and diving completed its climb to the top of the Atlantic 10 on Saturday night, making history with its first-ever conference title.
The Colonials clinched the crown on the final night at SPIRE Institute with Andrea Moussier claiming gold and Gemma Atherley, Jackie Torrez and Stine Omdahl Petersen also reaching the podium.
Afterward, the Colonials accepted their trophy and piled into the pool to celebrate. It was a moment years in the making for the Buff and Blue, who improved their positioning in the conference race for the fifth consecutive season.
"I'm just so proud of them," GW head coach Brian Thomas said. "To be honest, we had a lot of swimmers who were disappointed being 18.5 points short last year and came in on a bit of a mission to get it done this year. Especially from the midseason meet onward, they connected really well and swam lights out for each other."
Following a runner-up finish last season, the Colonials leaned on their impressive depth this week to put them over the top. They totaled 608 points over four days to finish clear of second-place Fordham (534) and Duquesne (525).
GW earned nine medals in all, including the four on the meet's final night, and just as important, the Colonials were represented in every championship final throughout the week.
Over four days, GW produced 19 individual scorers, including a big effort from divers Caitlin Inall, Gabriella Arendes and Rachel Dickinson to secure 59 points between the two boards.
"The fact that we all won this as a collective just means the world," said senior Jackie Torrez, who earned a pair of medals this week. "Because I know that every single person contributed. It's just a great feeling."
Moussier set the tone for the final night by securing GW's first individual gold of the week. The sophomore from Mexico swam her heat of the 1,650-yard freestyle in the afternoon and then celebrated when her time of 16:49.75 held up. It was her second consecutive win in the event.
Fittingly, a pair of GW seniors put together excellent swims on Saturday night to help the Colonials seal the long-awaited title.
First, Atherley came through with a strong performance in the 200-yard backstroke. After breaking her own program record in prelims by going 1:57.80, the senior from the Channel Islands grabbed silver in 1:57.93. It was her second medal of the week after earning silver in the 200-yard freestyle earlier in the week and the 12th of her decorated career.
Then, Torrez followed suit in the 200-yard butterfly, posting a finals time of 1:59.26 en route to silver. In her final trip to the A-10 meet, the senior from California finished in the top four of all three of her individual swims, plus the 800-yard free relay.
The program's 200-yard breaststroke fell three times on the day. Courtney Sicinski broke the mark in prelims (2:16.11) only to see Omdahl Petersen better it minutes later at 2:13.88. In the evening final, Omdahl Petersen took third in an NCAA B-cut time of 2:13.11 to set the record again with Sicinski close behind in fifth.
Grace Olivardia paced GW in the 100-yard freestyle, taking eighth in 51.14 seconds. Senior Lynn Zhang led three Colonials in the B final with a personal-best time of 50.85 seconds.
Including Moussier, GW had four scorers in the 1,650 free with Erin McCarthy placing seventh in 16:58.01 and Tali Lemcoff (11th) and Marissa Martin (16th) also in the mix.
Isabela Patino came through with a win in the B final of the 200 fly in 2:01.39, while Andrea Ho scored in two individual events by finishing eighth in the 200 fly and 12th in the 200 back.
As was the case throughout the week, those top-to-bottom contributions were key to the Colonials staying on top of the team standings and ultimately earning their long-awaited title.
WATCH THIS: Hear from head coach Brian Thomas, Torrez and Atherley after winning the title.
The Colonials clinched the crown on the final night at SPIRE Institute with Andrea Moussier claiming gold and Gemma Atherley, Jackie Torrez and Stine Omdahl Petersen also reaching the podium.
Afterward, the Colonials accepted their trophy and piled into the pool to celebrate. It was a moment years in the making for the Buff and Blue, who improved their positioning in the conference race for the fifth consecutive season.
"I'm just so proud of them," GW head coach Brian Thomas said. "To be honest, we had a lot of swimmers who were disappointed being 18.5 points short last year and came in on a bit of a mission to get it done this year. Especially from the midseason meet onward, they connected really well and swam lights out for each other."
Following a runner-up finish last season, the Colonials leaned on their impressive depth this week to put them over the top. They totaled 608 points over four days to finish clear of second-place Fordham (534) and Duquesne (525).
GW earned nine medals in all, including the four on the meet's final night, and just as important, the Colonials were represented in every championship final throughout the week.
Over four days, GW produced 19 individual scorers, including a big effort from divers Caitlin Inall, Gabriella Arendes and Rachel Dickinson to secure 59 points between the two boards.
"The fact that we all won this as a collective just means the world," said senior Jackie Torrez, who earned a pair of medals this week. "Because I know that every single person contributed. It's just a great feeling."
Moussier set the tone for the final night by securing GW's first individual gold of the week. The sophomore from Mexico swam her heat of the 1,650-yard freestyle in the afternoon and then celebrated when her time of 16:49.75 held up. It was her second consecutive win in the event.
Fittingly, a pair of GW seniors put together excellent swims on Saturday night to help the Colonials seal the long-awaited title.
First, Atherley came through with a strong performance in the 200-yard backstroke. After breaking her own program record in prelims by going 1:57.80, the senior from the Channel Islands grabbed silver in 1:57.93. It was her second medal of the week after earning silver in the 200-yard freestyle earlier in the week and the 12th of her decorated career.
Then, Torrez followed suit in the 200-yard butterfly, posting a finals time of 1:59.26 en route to silver. In her final trip to the A-10 meet, the senior from California finished in the top four of all three of her individual swims, plus the 800-yard free relay.
The program's 200-yard breaststroke fell three times on the day. Courtney Sicinski broke the mark in prelims (2:16.11) only to see Omdahl Petersen better it minutes later at 2:13.88. In the evening final, Omdahl Petersen took third in an NCAA B-cut time of 2:13.11 to set the record again with Sicinski close behind in fifth.
Grace Olivardia paced GW in the 100-yard freestyle, taking eighth in 51.14 seconds. Senior Lynn Zhang led three Colonials in the B final with a personal-best time of 50.85 seconds.
Including Moussier, GW had four scorers in the 1,650 free with Erin McCarthy placing seventh in 16:58.01 and Tali Lemcoff (11th) and Marissa Martin (16th) also in the mix.
Isabela Patino came through with a win in the B final of the 200 fly in 2:01.39, while Andrea Ho scored in two individual events by finishing eighth in the 200 fly and 12th in the 200 back.
As was the case throughout the week, those top-to-bottom contributions were key to the Colonials staying on top of the team standings and ultimately earning their long-awaited title.
WATCH THIS: Hear from head coach Brian Thomas, Torrez and Atherley after winning the title.
WHAT A NIGHT! Hear from @GWCoachBThom and seniors Gemma Atherley and Jackie Torrez after we clinched our first-ever women's @atlantic10 title. #RaiseHigh pic.twitter.com/mVOi8204KA
— GW Swimming & Diving (@GWSwimDive) February 23, 2020
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Swimming and Diving
/ Women's Swimming and Diving
/ Women's Swimming and Diving
/ Women's Swimming and Diving
/ Women's Swimming and Diving
/ Women's Swimming and Diving
/ Women's Swimming and Diving
/ Women's Swimming and Diving
/ Women's Swimming and Diving
/ Women's Swimming and Diving
/ Women's Swimming and Diving
/ Women's Swimming and Diving
/ Women's Swimming and Diving
/ Women's Swimming and Diving
/ Women's Swimming and Diving
No Bag Policy PSA
Tuesday, August 19
25-26 GW Basketball Sizzle Reel
Wednesday, June 18
2025 SAMH Campaign Video
Tuesday, May 20
2025 The Georgeys Recap Video
Wednesday, May 07