WASHINGTON – Taking advantage of the long weekend mid-semester break, the Georgetown University men's and women's swimming & diving teams travelled to Charlottesville, Virginia for a weekend of exhibition racing and team-building exercises before opening the head-to-head racing season on Friday. The Hoyas competed in friendly competition against Virginia, the defending women's National Champions and ninth place finishers on the men's side in 2020-21.
"The weekend got off to a great start," Head Coach
Jack Leavitt said. "We were able to do some events we don't ever get to do and the swimmers didn't know what they were swimming until right before they dove in. Really proud of our effort and energy all day."
Similar to the opening weekend at the Potomac Relays, the exhibition with Virginia featured extensive non-traditional events that the Hoyas and Cavaliers were assigned by blindly picking out of a hat.
Maddie Haley collected Georgetown's first win of the day in the women's 50-yard underwater, topping her senior foe from UVA by 0.70 seconds.
Liam Ryan claimed a pair of victories on the men's side in the 75-yard backstroke and the 75-yard breaststroke events. Fellow Hoya
Sergio Coury finished just behind Ryan in the breaststroke heat for a second-place finish.
Georgetown won another pair of individual races as
Drew Carbone claimed victory in the men's 25-yard breaststroke and
John McEachern touched the wall just 0.02 seconds before Virginia to win the men's 25-yard freestyle.
Other top finishers for the Hoyas included
Corey Moon placing third in the women's 75-yard breaststroke,
Stephen Kim finishing second in the men's 100-year IM flip turns and
Genevieve Youngman coming in second in the women's 25-year butterfly just 0.29 seconds behind the winner. Sam Milligian placed third in the women's 25-yard backstroke, Carbone was third in the men's 25-yard backstroke and Ryan tied for third in the men's 25-yard breaststroke as well.
In the diving events,
Wynter Bramao and
Amada Paris finished 1-2 in the women's 1-meter event.
"It was really fun and a privilege to be able to compete with such an accomplished team," women's captain
Grace Chen said. "This meet was a great way to cheer on our teammates and show our strength as a team."
"This meet was a great way to start our weekend," echoed men's captain
Sean Devlin. "We competed with one of the best teams in the nation and had a fun time doing it."
Along with the exhibition racing and training sessions with the Cavaliers, Georgetown took advantage of the gorgeous autumnal weather of the Blue Ridge Mountains for team-building exercises throughout the weekend. The Hoyas went apple picking, rock climbing and tackled challenging rope courses – all reinforcing the idea that connections between teammates are just as important as times in the pool.
"It was so great to be able to spend time with the team outside of the pool," women's captain
Lilly Clisham said. "The activities we did were unlike ones we've ever done as a team before. We were able to step outside of our comfort zones on land while still having fun, and it was definitely unforgettable."
On Deck
The Hoyas returns to the District for a pair of head-to-head meets at American on Friday and at Howard on Saturday.
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All Georgetown swimming & diving home meets are currently scheduled to take place at McCarthy Pool. In accordance with Washington, D.C. regulations, masks are required for attendance at all indoor events on campus.
