Men’s Recap - Jan. 30
College of Charleston Dominates Darton Junior College
CHARLESTON, S.C. – The College of Charleston swimming and diving programs each posted impressive victories over Darton Junior College on January 30 at the Stern Center in Charleston, S.C. The men’s team (3-6, 2-1) notched a 207-88 victory while the women (5-9, 4-4)
Sophomore Matthew Sherrier (Boulder, Colo.) and senior Chris Rogers (Aiken, S.C.) led the men’s program with a pair of victories each while freshmen Gracie Herlong (Charleston, S.C.) and Casey Sweeney (Richmond, Va.) did the same for the women. Sherrier claimed top honors in the 100- and 200-meter freestyle events with times of 53.87 and 1:56.11, respectively, and led a sweep in the 100 as senior Andy Puciaty (Woodstock, Ga.) and freshman Eric Craig (Knoxville, Tenn.) posted times of 54.64 and 54.77. Craig also added a runner-up outing with a time of 1:59.12 in the 200-meter freestyle.
Rogers dominated the 100- and 200-meter backstroke with times of 59.68 and 2:16.60, respectively, while sophomore Dmitriy Gorin (Alpharetta, Ga.), senior Sam Winkler (Baton Rouge, La.), sophomore Andrew Gerland (Worcester, Pa.) and sophomore Chase Greiser (Chesapeake, Va.) each notched first-place finishes.
Gorin claimed victory in the 800-meter freestyle (8:57.51), Winkler in the 100-meter breaststroke (1:17.97), Gerland the 200-meter butterfly (2:16.66) and Greiser in the 100-meter butterfly (59.57). Senior Greg Greer (Clemmons, N.C.) added a pair of second-place finishes with a time of 1:19.00 in the 100-meter breaststroke and a mark of 2:17.76 in the 200-meter individual medley.
In the diving portion of the competition, Jamie Rodriguez (216.00) led a sweep of the 1-meter dive, followed by freshman Peter Gibbons (Fairfax, Va.) at 207.15 and senior Jeff Jankowski (Spartanburg, S.C.) at 193.05. Gibbons claimed first-place in the three-meter dive (238.95) and Jankowski took second at 194.70 while Rodriguez finished third with a total of 194.25.
Herlong claimed her top honors in the 200-meter butterfly (2:26.50) and the 800-meter freestyle (9:47.04) while fellow frosh Sweeney notched hers in the 100-meter breaststroke (1:17.97) and the 200-yard backstroke (2:47.10). Sophomore Haley Horkey claimed victory in the 200-meter freestyle with a time of 2:14.00 and senior Laura Brichler (Cincinnati, Ohio) and freshman Jamie Redlawsk (Fairview, Pa.) each earned a first- and second-place finish.
Brichler took first with a time of 1:03.10 in the 100-meter freestyle and was followed by Redlawsk in second at 1:04.08 while the senior was runner-up in the 200-meter freestyle at 2:16.38. Redlawsk claimed her first-place finish with a time of 1:11.92 in the 100-meter breaststroke. Freshmen Jordan Fogarty and Ali Leberfinger (Chatham, N.J.) each notched a runner-up finish with Fogarty posting a time of 10:13.57 in the 800-meter freestyle and Leberfinger in the 100-meter backstroke at 1:12.06.
In the women’s diving, senior Susan MacGillivray (Westwood, Mass.) took first in the 1-meter dive with a total of 190.05 while Adrienne Sist claimed the 3-meter dive at 193.50.
Both College of Charleston teams are now off until the 2009-10 Coastal Collegiate Swimming Association Championships. Those will be held in Knoxville, Tenn. on the campus of the University of Tennessee from February 18-23.
Rogers Sparkles for Bison Against Hoyas
WASHINGTON, D.C. - In the team's final tune-up before their most significant meet of the season, the Howard Bison women's and men's swimming and diving teams braved the snow and hills of Northwest DC to face the Georgetown Hoyas on Saturday afternoon. The Bison continue to make their way towards season-best swims, but the Hoyas proved too much for Howard to handle. Georgetown took care of both meets by winning the women's contest 106-81 and the men's 110-101.
"Since October, we have met every challenge head-on with great intensity and purpose," said head coach Matt Salerno. "We could not be more pleased with the progress each individual is making as we head to our Conference Championship."
Senior Alyssa Rogers was the star of the afternoon for the Lady Bison. Rogers breaststroke times continue to shrink with every meet. Her first victory on the afternoon was in the 100 breaststroke, going toe-to-toe with the Hoyas' Kathryn Berg. Rogers was too much, though, out-touching Berg for first place honors with a time of 1:10.25. Later in the contest, Rogers gained momentum as her 200 breaststroke progressed. Her final time of 2:34.84 was a season-best and accounted for Howard's two individual victories on the snowy afternoon.
Freshmen Chelsea Andrews narrowly missed securing the team other first place finish. Her time in the 100 freestyle of 53.93 was only 0.10 seconds away from the Hoyas' Lindsay Vickory, but was still good enough for second place. Andrews also earned third place finishes in the 100 back (1:03.59) and the 100 fly (1:00.98.) Her classmate Summer Davis finished third for the Bison in the 400 IM while senior captain Polo Edwards tallied a third place mark in the 500 freestyle.
On the men's side, freshman Zadok Isaacs fought valiantly for his two second place finishes. His first was an exciting 200 backstroke race that saw him reach for a time of 2:03.47. His second was a well-executed 400 IM that saw the native of Trinidad and Tobago finish in a time of 4:26.93.
Senior James Washington scored the only other second place finish for the Bison with his season-best time in the 500 freestyle. Fellow senior Brad Worrell notched the Bison's only third place finish with a solid swim in the 100 freestyle.
"The team is taking advantage of every opportunity that they have to race against some great competition," said Salerno. "Even though we fell short on the scoreboard, this is a great way for us to conclude our regular season schedule. We continue to improve and keep our competitive drive, and that will pay dividends as we move forward."
The Bison will travel to Knoxville, Tennessee for the 2010 Coastal Collegiate Swimming Association Championship on February 18-20.
