The men and women of the Blue Jays’ swim team kicked off their spring break with a trip down to Shenandoah, Texas for the 2017 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships. The competition kicked off on Thursday, March 16, with the first of many outstanding All-American performances for the Jays.
Right off the bat, the Jays were taking down records and racking up All-American honors. On day one of competition, the men’s swim team grabbed a pair of silver medals and topped two school records, scoring 65 points on the day.
First in the water was senior Andy Greenhalgh, seeking his third straight title in the 500 Free. Breaking his own school record time by nearly a full second in the event en route to a second-place finish, Greenhalgh earned his ninth All-American honors.
Greenhalgh would sit atop the podium once again on day two, finishing second in the 1650 Free. Greenhalgh’s gold medal performance snowballed into an avalanche of record-breaking performances for the Jays on the first night.
Next in the pool was senior Evan Holder, who broke the school record in the 200-meter in just his prelim swim. Holder cut another 0.74 seconds in the finals to dip below the NCAA record and claim second-place behind the current NCAA record holder.
Later on in day two, Holder would come back take the gold in the 200 Free, again in record-breaking fashion. Holder’s prelim performance was just five-hundredths of a second off the national record, which has stood untouched since 1988.
Going into the finals, Holder’s prelim time earned him the first seed. At the half, Holder stood in third among a field of eight swimmers and by the 150-meter mark, he took over second. In the final 50 meters, Holder’s speed could not be matched. He blew away the rest of the field to win the individual title by 0.66 seconds.
Not only did he take home his first individual gold, but he did so while breaking the 29-year-old national record (the oldest in D-III) by two hundredths of a second.
Still, Holder was not finished. The senior went on to earn two more All-American honors on the same day. Along with his teammates, sophomore Michael Wohl and juniors Mark Wilson and Michael Ashmead, Holder and the Blue Jays took home the silver in the 200 Free Relay.
Holder, Wilson and Wohl each ended the day with three All-American honors. Holder ended his senior season with a career total of 24 All-American accolades.
The women kicked off their NCAA competition with the second fastest 200 Medley Relay time in school history. Just 0.12 seconds off of the school record, the Hopkins team grabbed a fifth place finish in the event.
In day two, the women had two top eight finishes, good enough to earn All-American honors in both events. The Jays opened the night with the 200 Free Relay, in which they entered the prelims earlier that morning seeded 17th.
After earning their place in the Championship finals, two juniors, Anna Wisniewski and Kaitlin Jones, and two freshmen, Alison Shapiro and Kristen Petersen, dropped another 0.43 seconds off their times for sixth place.
“It is always fun to cheer on the relays, because Hopkins always does well in those traditionally,” Jones said. “We trained extremely hard all year, so it was great to see our relays, and especially our senior Abby Brown, do well.”
Later that night, Brown would compete in the 100 Fly finals. In the past, she competed in the event at the NCAAs both her freshman and sophomore years, placing 15th and 11th, respectively.
In the prelims, Brown clocked 55.33, shaving 0.39 seconds off her career best. The senior finally claimed All-American status in the event, finishing eighth in the Championship finals.
The senior would return to the pool the next day for the final swim of her career. Competing in the Championship final of the 200 Fly for the first time, Brown would finish the race in seventh, becoming All-American in the event and breaking the school record.
In the final event of the meet, Jones and junior classmate Gwynnie LaMastra took to the pool to compete in the 200 Breast. LaMastra entered the race as the school record holder in the event but unfortunately finished the race in ninth, just missing All-American honors.
Meanwhile, Jones managed to break her classmate’s school record in the event by over half a second to take fifth in the event. Jones is now a 15-time All-American.
“After working hard all year, it is nice to see it all pay-off,” Jones said.
With a total of 295 points, the men’s team took fourth overall. The women took ninth place with a total of 120.5 points
