May 26, 2006
Washington, D.C. - The swimming and diving program fielded a young squad during the 2005-06 season en route to setting seven school records and sending 20 student-athletes to the BIG EAST Championships; where the men and women each finished in 11th place. The Hoyas had not sent more than one swimmer since 2002 when GU sent 11 student-athletes. The women finished 14th of 23 at the ECAC Championships in Pittsburgh, Pa., while the men finished 15th.
The Hoyas started the season by hosting the Potomac Relay Invitational at the Takoma Recreation Center on Oct. 14. Georgetown finished seventh of eight teams including George Mason, Boston College, Mary Washington, American, George Washington, Marymount and Navy. Senior tri-captain Corinne Rhodes (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks West) qualified for the BIG EAST Championship in the 100 yard breaststroke when she swam the lead leg of the 3x100 breaststroke relay.
GU then hosted its first home meet of the season when they welcomed Boston College to McCarthy Pool on Oct. 15. The men suffered a 130-113 loss while the women lost 152-91. Freshman standout Goran Bistric (Saugus, Calif./William S. Hart) qualified for the BIG EAST Championship in two events, posting a top time in the 200 backstroke, and then in the 100 backstroke when he swam the lead leg of the 400 medley relay. Rhodes qualified for her second event when she swam the 200 breaststroke.
The Hoyas traveled for a meet at the University of Delaware, the first in a trio of road meets. The Blue Hens handed the men a 148-93 loss, and the Hoya women lost 160-74. Bistric broke the school record in the 100 backstroke on the lead leg of the 400 medley relay with a time of 52.98. Senior divers Doug Curran (St. Louis, Mo./DeSmet Jesuit) and Santini Reali (Sarasota, Fla./Pine View) tied for first in the one meter diving event. Freshman Brian Badala (San Anselmo, Calif./Drake) and Rhodes also took home first place finishes in the men's and women's 200 breaststroke, respectively. The quartet of senior Julie Dougherty (East Haven, Conn./East Haven), junior Laura Sytnyk (Nutley, N.J./Mount St. Dominic) and sophomores Megan Maragakes (Doylestown, Pa/Central Bucks East) and Kelcey Poulson (Old Greenwich, Conn./Greenwich) won the 400 freestyle relay.
Second in the trio of road meets was a dual meet against Fairfield and Loyola (Md.) at the Mangione Aquatic Center in Baltimore, Md. The women swept Fairfield and Loyola (Md.) 177-66 and 138-105, respectively. The men defeated Fairfield, 178-62, but fell just short with a 124-117 loss to Loyola (Md.). Juniors Liz Nugent (Westport, Conn./The Hopkins School) and Sytnyk finished first in the 200 individual medley and the 100 butterfly, respectively. The duo teamed up with Rhodes and sophomore Caitlin Wallach (Mequon, Wis./Divine Savior) to win the 200 medley relay. Sophomore Caitlin Colling (Monson, Mass./Monson) also won two events, the 100 and 200 freestyle. Freshman Daniel Robinson (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mount Lebanon) took the 200 individual medley event while the quartet of sophomore Peter Myers (Peoria, Ill./Peoria Notre Dame) and freshmen John Boswick (Wyckoff, N.J./Indian Hills), David Ballinger (Pleasantville, N.Y./Pleasantville) and Bistric won the 400 medley relay.
The last of the three-meet road stint was at William & Mary. The men lost 138-98 to drop to 1-4 on the season while the women lost 129-108, falling to 2-3. The quartet of senior tri-captain Heath Walden (Scituate, Mass./Boston College High), Robinson, Ballinger and Bistric placed first in the 200 medley relay and senior tri-captain Jon Hayden (Woodbridge, Va./Osbourn Park) earned first place honors in the 1650 freestyle.
The Hoyas then participated in the Patriot Invitational, a weekend meet in Fairfax, Va. on Nov. 18-20, the last event in the first half of the 2005-06 season. The Hoyas broke three school records and eight student-athletes qualified for the BIG EAST Championship. Bistric broke the 200 backstroke record with a time of 1:54.62. The old record was one the of the oldest records in school history and the only one left on the board from before Head Coach Bethany Bower took over the program. Hayden broke two record he already held, the 1000 freestyle, with a time of 9:47.48, and the 1650 freestyle, with a time of 16:14.64. Bistric qualified for the BIG EAST Championship in the 100 butterfly while Hayden qualified in the 200, 500 and 1650 freestyle and the 200 butterfly. Ballinger qualified in the 100 backstroke and the 100 and 200 butterfly; Walden in the 100 backstroke and the 200 butterfly; Robinson in the 100 and 200 backstroke and the 200 and 400 individual medley. For the women, senior tri-captain Katie Amaro (Shreveport, La./Loyola Prep) qualified in the 100, 200, 500 and 1650 freestyle; Nugent in the 100 and 200 backstroke; and Sytnyk in the 100 and 200 butterfly.
After a training session in Puerto Rico, the Hoyas faced conference opponent Seton Hall in San Juan. The men lost 102-65 and the women lost 93-74. Colling took home two first place finishes, the 50 and 100 meter freestyle events; then she teamed up with sophomore Claire Nugent (Westport, Conn./The Hopkins School), Rhodes, and Liz Nugent to place first in the 200 medley relay. Senior tri-captain Don Ball (Hatboro, Pa./Hatboro-Horsham), sophomore Chris Ball (Horsham, Pa./Hatboro-Horsham) and freshmen Robinson and Ballinger placed second in the 200 medley relay.
GU returned to McCarthy Pool on Jan. 14 for a women's tri-meet against VMI, Radford and Howard while the men hosted a dual-meet against VMI and Howard. The men and women swept the meets, improving their records to 3-5 and 5-4, respectively. Amaro swept three events, the 200, 500 and 1000 yard freestyle. Sophomore diver Kelcey Moore (Arlington, Va./The Madeira School) swept the one and three meter events. For the men, Robinson and Reali also won two events as Robinson won the 200 freestyle and the 200 butterfly and Reali won the one and three meter diving events.
On Jan. 21 the Hoyas traveled to crosstown-foe American for a meet. The women won 158-84, improving to 6-4, while the men dropped a 128-105 decision, dropping to 3-6. Freshman diver Jessica Rettig (Palm Harbor, Fla./Palm Harbor University) broke the school record in one meter diving with a score of 255.98, qualifying her for the BIG EAST Championship, while fellow diver Katie Oldham (Verdi, Nev./McQueen) won the three meter event. The women swept the relay events and the quartet of Amaro, Maragakes, Poulson and Dougherty took the 400 freestyle convincingly, as they were almost 14 seconds ahead of the second place squad. For the men, Reali swept the diving events again.
The Hoyas returned home to McCarthy Pool for the last leg of the regular season with a pair of home meets. On Jan. 28, GU hosted Drexel and the women won 164-114 while the men suffered a 166-144 loss. Sophomores Tori Maffey (Mountainside, N.J./Mount St. Mary) and Colling each claimed four first place finishes. Colling placed first in the 100 and 200 freestyle, the 200 individual medley and was part of the first-place 400 medley relay squad. Maffey finished first in the 100 and 200 backstroke and was part of both the 400 freestyle relay and the 400 medley relay. Rounding out the 400 medley relay with Colling and Maffey were Claire Nugent and freshman Christina DiNapoli (Saddle River, N.J./Immaculate Heart). On the men's side, Robinson finished first in four events, claiming the 200 freestyle, 200 backstroke, 200 individual medley and was part of the first-place 400 medley relay team. Also on that team was Ballinger, who won the 100 and 200 butterfly.
For the last meet of the season on Feb. 4, the Hoyas hosted Lafayette. The men defeated Lafayette, 175-119, ending the regular season at 4-7, while the women lost a heartbreaker, 151-149. The Hoyas were on a five-meet winning streak until the loss, ending the season at 7-5. Four student-athletes qualified for the BIG EAST Championship. Curran qualified in the one meter diving event for the men, while Colling, Maffey and Claire Nugent qualified in the 200 freestyle, 200 backstroke and 200 butterfly for the women, respectively.
The Hoyas competed in the BIG EAST Championship from Feb. 15-18 and broke five school records over the four day meet. The men and women both placed 11th at the championship. On the first day, the quartet of Colling, Rhodes and Liz and Claire Nugent broke the 200 medley relay record with a time of 1:50.86. On the third day of competition, Bistric broke the 100 backstroke record he had previously set earlier in the season with a time of 52.54. On the final day of competition, Sytnyk broke the record in the 200 butterfly with a time of 2:08.72 while Bistric set the record in the 200 backstroke in his first heat with a time of 1:53.46. In the final run of the 200 backstroke, Bistric re-set the record with a time of 1:52.44.
The BIG EAST Championship would end the season for the swimmers, but four divers went on to compete at the Eastern College Athletic Conference Championships. For the women, Moore finished fourth and sixth in the one and three meter diving events, respectively while Oldham finished in eighth and eleventh, respectively. On the men's side, Reali placed ninth in the three meter while Curran took a ninth place decision in the one meter.
