George Washington University
Big Al Invitational
Bystrom, Rosen and Reyblat Qualify for NCAA Platform Zones on Final Day of Big Al Invitational
12/4/2022 8:22:00 PM | Women's Swimming and Diving
Swimming and diving closes out midseason meet
PRINCETON, N.J. - GW swimming and diving wrapped up a strong weekend at Princeton's Big Al Invitational on Sunday, highlighted by NCAA platform zone qualifications from Spencer Bystrom, Dara Reyblat and Olivia Rosen, along with school records for Bystrom and Reyblat.
The women escaped with a narrow third-place finish (655.5), behind Princeton (1080.5) and Utah (999), but ahead of Denver (654), CSU Bakersfield (280) and Columbia (66), while the men took fifth place (448), behind Princeton (1178.5), Utah (875), Columbia (601.5) and Denver (451), but ahead of CSU Bakersfield (308).
Men's Highlights:
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Bystrom set a program record and qualified for NCAA platform zones with his fifth-place (309.55) finish in the men's platform final. Bystrom crushed the previous school record (271.35), which was set back in 2019 by Peter Nachtwey.
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Philip Moldovanu took fifth place (15:26.63) in the mile (1650-yard freestyle), just over four seconds away from his personal best.
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Karol Mlynarczyk secured silver (1:42.69) in the 200-yard backstroke A-final, a personal best.
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Daniel Nagy won (1:46.96) the 200-yard butterfly B-final and jumped into fourth in program history in the event.
Women's Highlights:
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Rosen and Reyblat qualified for NCAA platform zones with their strong performances in the women's platform. Reyblat set a new school record on her entry score (237.00), surpassing Olivia Paquette's (214.15) record from earlier this season. Rosen also passed the old record in her sixth-place (228.75) finish in the final, which was a personal best.
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Ava Topolewski took home gold (16:32.64) in the mile and was less than one second away from Bambi Bowman's school record (16:32.08) set in 1995.
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After qualifying for the 200-yard backstroke A-final with a personal-best swim (1:58.16), Phoebe Wright took fifth place (1:57.83) in the final with another personal best and moved into third in program history.
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Ava DeAngelis took home first place (2:17.65) and Julia Knox earned third place (2:18.08) in the 200-yard breaststroke B-final, both less than one second away from their personal bests.
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Moriah Freitas secured second (2:01.55) in the 200-yard butterfly, after placing third (2:01.55) in the prelims with a new personal best.
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GW closed out the Big Al Invitational by taking second (3:21.50) in the 400-yard freestyle relay. Barbara Schaal, Marlee Rickert, Chloe Hernandez and Wright combined for the podium finish which was just .42 off the program record.
Looking Ahead:
GW's next team competition is January 14, when Johns Hopkins pays a visit to the Charles E. Smith Center. Next weekend, the Buff and Blue will also be sending three individuals (Ganesh Sivaramakrishnan, Phoebe Wright, Ava Topolewski) to the Speedo Junior Nationals in Greensboro, N.C.
Players Mentioned
