On November 2nd and 3rd, the Hopkins men’s and women’s swimming team competed in the Thomas Murphy Invitational at Loyola University. The men’s team brought their ‘A’ game, defeating Loyola 249-96 while also beating Marywood 281-65. The team swept all five relays, and came out victorious in 15 of the 20 total events.
In the 400 Medley Relay, Hopkins took the top two spots, with the team of Dylan Davis, Gideon Hou, Carter Gisriel and Will Kimball coming in first with a time of 3:27.91. Taking the second spot was the team of Dylan Coggin, Joe Acquaviva, Greg Kogut and Nick Schmidt at 3:32.24.
In the 500 Free, Freshman Billy Gravely came in second with a time of 4:44.89. When asked about the meet, Gravely was very happy with the team’s performance and was optimistic about the team’s future in the water. “I feel like the whole team did great,” he said. “We put a decent margin between us and Loyola, and we did a really great job in the 100 and 200 butterfly. A lot of our team is getting to where they need to be to get ready for our conference opponents and nationals.”
In the 100 butterfly, the Jays took the top four spots, led by Schmidt. The 200 Butterfly ended with JHU at the top two spots, led once again by Schmidt.
On the women’s side, the Lady Jays enjoyed the same success against Loyola (207-150) and Marywood (276-67), but could not sweep the meet, losing to St. Francis 192-139. In the 400 Medley Relay, Taylor Kitayama, Sammi Fox, Kylie Holden and Ana Bogdanovski placed first for the Lady Jays, posting a time of 3:59.72. The Lady Jays took the top two spots in the 200 IM, with Kitayama and Fox taking the top spots. In the 200 Free Relay, Megan Auzenbergs, Kylie Ternes, Sarah Rinsma and Bogdanovski came in a close second place to St. Francis, finishing with a time of 1:38.79, 0.21 behind.
Auzenbergs was pleased with the gutsy performance by her fellow teammates. “It was a meet that taught us how to swim through pain and fatigue,” she said. “We’re at a point where our training is at its maximum intensity, so this meet taught us how to swim smart. This meet will definitely help us come out on top in the end.”
Auzenbergs also touched on the adjustments the team has had to make this season. “We have a new approach to training and it has been a positive adjustment. (The meet) was a grind, and it says a lot about the strength of our team because we were definitely not at our best but we managed to come out on top.”
For the weekend, the girls posted three relay victories out of the 5 events: the 400 Medley, the 800 Freestyle, and the 200 Medley. Kitayama had an especially impressive day, posting two NCAA provisional times. The first came in the 100 Back, while the second came in the 200 Back.
Both the men’s and women’s swimming teams are having plenty of success. The men are 4-0 this year, with imposing wins coming over Rowan, Franklin and Marshall, Loyola and Marywood. The women are also having a great year, posting a 4-1 record with wins against the same teams as the men.
The next event for the men and women is November 17-19 in Piscataway, NJ. The Blue Jays will be competing in the Frank Elm Invitational, and will then close the month In Gettysburg, PA at the Final Fall Fast Festival. That will end the 2012 season for the team, and the team will pick up again in January 2013.
