George Washington University Athletics
George Washington University
Navy
Swimming and Diving Drops Meet with Navy
10/21/2022 9:21:00 PM | Women's Swimming and Diving
Divers impressed but the Buff and Blue fall narrowly
ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Buff and Blue dominated the diving boards, but GW swimming and diving fell to Navy, 157-143 (women's) and 153.5-130.5 (men's), on Friday night.
Highlights:
The divers had a very strong performance on Friday, winning three dives outright, and tying for the top-dive on the fourth. Olivia Paquette had the top-rated 3 meter dive and second best 1-meter dive (247.58), while Caitlin Inall submitted the top 1-meter dive (254.63). The two gathered up 25 points in their efforts towards the women's final score.
On the men's team, it was Spencer Bystrom dominating on the boards. Bystrom took home top dives in both men's 1-meter (282.90) and 3-meter (307.65 *tied), and he earned 16.5 points for the men's final score.
First-year Ava Topolewski continued her dominance in long-distance freestyle races, taking first in both the 500-yard (5:03.62) and 1,000-yard (10:14:09) freestyles. It's the second meet in a row that Topolewski took first in the events.
The men's team found success in the backstroke. Karol Mlynarczyk came away with two first place swims in the 100-yard (49.04) and 200-yard (1:49.76) backstrokes, while Marek Osina secured second in the 200-yard backstroke (1:50.93) and Ryan Patterson took second in the 100-yard backstroke (51.71).
Sophomore Moriah Freitas did well in each of her races. Freitas found success again in the butterfly for the second consecutive week as she won the 100-yard butterfly (56.95). Freitas backed up her win with a bundle of second place finishes, in the 100-yard freestyle (53.45), 200-yard freestyle (2:06.10) and 200-yard medley relay (1:46.41) with Marlee Rickert, Ava DeAngelis and Becca Brown.
Sophomore Julia Knox came away with a pair of second-place finishes in the 200-yard individual medley (2:05.68) and the 500-yard freestyle (5:03.97), in which she placed just behind Topolewski. Knox also took third in the women's 200-yard freestyle (1:53.77), missing the first-place swimmer by just over one second.
First-year Daniel Nagy took home his second consecutive 200-yard butterfly (1:51.91) win after impressing in the race a week ago.
Quoteable:
"I'm super proud to see our women's program continue to grow," Head Coach Brian Thomas remaked. "Our group showed a ton of grit climbing back into the meet after an early deficit. The divers crushed it to keep us within striking distance and we had four or five phenomenal performances in the last couple events. It was fun to see some pressure turn into fast swims, a couple more touches and we would've pulled it off. The men still have some work to do when it comes to being at our best when the circumstances aren't perfect. Lots to learn from today."
Looking Ahead:
GW swimming and diving is off until November 11-12, when it heads to Pittsburgh for a diving-only meet. The swimmers will head to Pittsburgh the following weekend, on November 18-19, while the divers head to Wolfpack Diving Invite, hosted by NC State.
Players Mentioned
