FAIRFAX, Va. – For the first time in meet history, the men's swimming & diving team won the Patriot Invitational and the women's team claimed its second ever title as the nine-team competition wrapped up on Saturday evening at the Aquatics and Fitness Center.
Coming into Saturday both the men's and women's teams held first place through the first two days of competition and were both able to seal the deal with strong swimming on Saturday. The men's team finalized its victory over second place UNCW with 963 total points to the Seahawks' 861, and the women extended their lead over second place George Washington, finishing with 923 points while the Colonials ended with 762. Head Coach Peter Ward loved seeing his team perform well.
"I am thrilled with the performances of the teams from top to bottom. We have been hosting this meet for 14 years and only ever won the women's once. So winning both is a huge accomplishment for our program," said Ward. The women's team had its first win come in 2007.
Winners on the evening for the women's team included freshman Steff Maurer in the women's 200-yard backstroke in a time of 2:01.93 after also finishing first the morning preliminary heats. Senior Paige bounced back after a third place preliminary finish in the women's 100-yard freestyle to grab first place in the finals with a time of 51.25. She also anchored the winning women's 400-yard freestyle relay that completed the race in a time of 3:26.96. Maurer led off the relay and was followed by previous relay winners Jessica Stiles, Kelsey Sorensen and Impink. Freshman Madison Baker took second in the lengthy 1650-yard freestyle in a time of 17:15.06.
Joey Kelly had two gold medal performances for the men, winning the men's 100-yard freestyle (45.37) and anchoring the first place 400-yard freestyle relay that included Jesse Burnley, Colin Schwartz and Danny Camozzo (3:02.92). Fernando Rubio led a group of Patriots that finished second through fifth in the men's 200-yard breaststroke with Rubio pacing in a time of 2:05.40. Brandon Nestor was the other Patriot to place on Saturday evening, coming in third in the men's 200-yard butterfly in a time of 1:52.01.
Patriots can see competition next if they qualify for U.S. Winter National Championships from December 5-7.
Women - Team Scores Place School Points ===================================================================
1 GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY GMU 923
2 GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY GW 762
3 UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND RICH 657
4 SETON HALL UNIVERSITY SHU 440.5
5 UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA W UNCW 378
6 UMBC SWIMMING & DIVING UMBC 354.5
7 SHIPPENSBURG UNIVERSITY OF PA SHIP 198
8 AMERICAN UNIVERSITY SWIMMING AU 140
9 HOWARD UNIVERSITY HWRD 18
Men - Team Scores Place School Points ===================================================================
1 GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY GMU 963
2 UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA W UNCW 861
3 UMBC SWIMMING & DIVING UMBC 713
4 GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY GW 495
5 SETON HALL UNIVERSITY SHU 329
6 AMERICAN UNIVERSITY SWIMMING AU 327
7 SHIPPENSBURG UNIVERSITY OF PA SHIP 120
8 HOWARD UNIVERSITY HWRD 38
