This past weekend was filled with wins for the Hopkins swim teams. Both the men and women went undefeated for the first time all season at the Loyola College Thomas Murphy Invitational.
Out of 32 events during the weekend, Hopkins swept 24 of them. The men had three huge wins against Loyola (213-85), Howard (238-58) and VMI (253-70). The women swam against both Loyola and Howard, defeating them 174-153 and 187-96, respectively.
"The Loyola meet went well for us," said senior co-captain Tyler Harris. "We got a chance to work on our races and had the opportunity to get ready for our meet next month in Ohio. Everyone is very optimistic about the season and we can't wait to get some rest and swim fast."
Continuing their tradition of strong relays, the men's 200-yard freestyle relay won their event in 1:27.32. Sophomore Brad Test, Harris, sophomore Andrew Stirn and senior Zane Hamilton made up the winning relay team. In the 200-yard medley relay sophomore Ryan Kim, classmates Matt Fedderly and Stirn, and freshman John Kegelman won in 1:38.20.
The Blue Jays also placed first in the 800-yard freestyle relay with freshman Kyle Foust, junior Rich Guerard, Ryan Kim and Test with a time of 7:09.93
"This time of the season is all about racing well, working hard, and improving as a team," said Harris. "I think we accomplished that at Loyola."
The men's team saw an abundance of wins, including first-place finishes by freshman Colin Kleinguetl in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 1:57.01, Test in the 50-yard freestyle in 21.48 and Fedderly in the 200-yard breaststroke in a time of 2:13.90. Guerard had two wins in both the 1650-yard freestyle and the 200-yard backstroke.
Senior Brian Sneed won the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 53.31, and was joined in the winner's circle by Kegelman in the 100-yard backstroke, and senior Sean Kim in the 200-yard individual medley.
"The Loyola meet was a great tune-up for our December meet at the Miami (Ohio) Invitational," said head coach George Kennedy. "We had three meet sessions and everyone swam a bit tired."
Not to be outdone by the men, the Lady Jays had their share of first place finishes as well.
Sophomore Stephanie Laperle started off the winning streak in the 400-yard individual medley with a time of 4:43.76. Junior Allie Foster placed just behind her in 4:47.38. Foster had a win of her own in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:09.87. Laperle also placed first in the 200-yard butterfly and 200-yard breaststroke.
"Loyola was a good meet for us, as it gave us confidence for our big meet, Miami of Ohio, next month," said Foster. "We are definitely looking forward to our meet at home on Tuesday."
Freshman Kristin Cunningham won the 50-yard freestyle for Hopkins in 24.82. Senior co-captain Stephanie Leaman placed first Friday night in the 1650-yard freestyle with a time of 18:30.43, while Cunningham took the other distance event, the 500-yard freestyle and the 200-yard individual medley.
"This past weekend at Loyola our strong racing and wins on both sides boosted our spirits even though our bodies were broken," said Leaman. "Everyone raced well and placed at least top three in their races. This is the middle and hardest part of the season and racing-wise, we could not have performed better. I am very proud of how the girls were able to race and not be concerned with times right now. We have about three weeks left until Miami and it is going to be a very exciting meet for everyone. We are going to challenge the teams at the Invitational with out a problem."
Senior co-captain Katie Herbst followed up with some wins of her own in the 200-yard backstroke and 200-yard freestyle with times of 5:14.61and 1:59.75, respectively.
"The Yale meet should be fun," said Kennedy. "We will swim the Tuesday before Thanksgiving and then get everyone home for break. We have been working hard and the meet should reflect that."
"Yale is a very competitive D-I team and this meet will be great practice for the upcoming Miami meet, so we are getting excited and hope to see everyone out there cheering us on for our only home meet," said Leaman.
