Kitayama named national swimmer of the week

The Hopkins women's
swimming team had a grueling
three matches this
week against formidable
opponents Navy, Towson,
and Washington and Lee.
The Jays began this stretch
on January 25th against the
Division I Navy Midshipmen.
The Midshipmen defeated
the Jays, 137-76, handing
Hopkins their first loss
of the season and first defeat
since January 28, 2011.
The loss dropped the
Jays to 7-1, while Navy
improved to 7-4. Notable
performers for the Jays included
freshman Ana Bogdanovski,
who placed second
in the 100-meter Free
and the 200-meter Free.
The Lady Jays looked to
rebound against Towson just
two days later, but unfortunately
fell short, 117-172. The
JHU loss marked the Tigers'
fourth straight win, improving
their already impressive
record to 9-1.
The Jays were led by
sophomore Taylor Kitayama,
who won three individual
events. The Lady
Jays did not despair, however,
and turned things
around the following day
with a hard fought victory
over Washington and Lee,
137-122. The Jays improved
to 8-2 on the season, while
the Generals fell to 9-3.
Hopkins was anchored
by sophomore Cristina
Cusumano, who won
the 100-meter Breast and
finished second in the
200-meter Breast.
While Hopkins' women's
swimming team certainly
deserves recognition,
the Hopkins men's
swim team is on an unprecedented
run.
The men's squad began
the week with a perfect
6-0 record and a numberfive
national ranking. They
looked to continue their
already historic season
against Towson and Washington
and Lee this past
weekend and did not disappoint,
winning both matches
to improve to 8-0 on the
season. The first victory
came against Towson on
Friday, which featured 10
Blue Jay wins in 12 events, allowing them to swim exhibitions
in the final two
events. The point totals favored
Hopkins, 148-127.
The Blue Jays' most notable
performances occurred
in the 200-meter Medley Relay
and the 50-meter free, in
which Hopkins swept the
top three spots in each event.
Other noteworthy performances
included junior Nick
Schmidt's two first place finishes
in the 200-meter free
and the 100-meter fly.
The team built off their
performance the next day
against 19th-ranked Washington
and Lee.
The Jays seemed unaffected
by racing on backto-
back days, defeating the
Generals, 154-105. The win
improved the Jays to 8-0,
giving them the most wins
in a season since they went
9-4 in the 2004-2005 season.
The Jays won 11 out of
12 scoring events. The Jays
were led by junior Dylan
Coggin and freshman
Dylan Davis, who each
won two individual races.
The match was a total
team effort, featuring
seven different Hopkins
swimmers winning the
other seven events.