FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason men's and women's swimming and diving teams will host the annual Patriot Invitational, welcoming eight teams for the meet beginning on Thursday, Nov. 17 and running through Saturday, Nov. 19 at the Jim McKay Natatorium.
Mason will compete against American, Drexel, Florida Atlantic, Richmond, Seton Hall, Shippensburg, UMBC and UNCW.
"It's one of my favorite events on the calendar every year and traditionally we have performed very well at the meet," Mason head coach Peter Ward said. "It's the biggest event we have in the fall. Other than the Atlantic 10 Championships, it's the biggest event we have as a team. We have a great pool and it's exciting for us to be able to see where we are as a team at the end of our first semester."
Both the Mason men's and women's teams claimed the Patriot Invitational title in 2014 and 2015.
Last season, the Patriot's women's team earned a fourth place finish, while the men's team placed fifth. On the women's side, the University of North Carolina Wilmington won the event with 793 points and UMBC was first on the men's side with 844.5 points.
Sydney Fisher won three events last season at the Patriot Invitational, including the 100-yard freestyle and the 100-yard IM. She also placed third in the 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard butterfly. Sarah Brallier was third in the 200-yard breaststroke, Dorothy Reilly recorded a third place finish in the 200-yard butterfly and Amy Tansill notched a fifth place finish in the 100-yard breaststroke.
On the men's side in last year's event, Alec Morin took third in the 50-yard freestyle and was fourth in the 100-yard freestyle. Steven Craig touched the wall third in the 400-yard IM and added a fourth place finish in the 200-yard IM.
In their last meet, the Mason men's team was edged by Towson by just three points, 177-174, while the women's team fell to Towson and Northeastern.
"It makes you stronger when you can take something from losing a close meet and be better for it," Ward said. "We've taken that into our training and our preparation for the Patriot Invitational and it will make a difference."
This is the final home meet of the season for the Patriots.
"The last 24 hours we back off the hard work a little," said Ward. "Everyone comes into this meet with different preparation and they are trying to achieve different things. The competition will be great again across the board at this year's Patriot Invitational. It's a great opportunity for people to come out and see this kind of format and terrific competition."
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Thursday
Prelims (10 a.m.): 500 free, 200 IM, 50 free, time trials
Finals (6 p.m.): 200 free relay, 500 free, 200 IM, 50 free, 400 medley relay
Diving (12 p.m.): Women's 3m and Men's 1m Prelims and Finals
Friday
Prelims (10 a.m.): 400 IM, 100 fly, 200 free, 100 breast, 100 back, time trials
Finals (6 p.m.): 200 medley relay, 400 IM, 100 fly, 200 free, 100 breast, 100 back, 800 free relay
Diving (12 p.m.): Women's 1m and Men's 3m Prelims and Finals
Saturday
Prelims (10 a.m.): 100 IM, 200 back, 100 free, 200 breast, 200 fly, 1,650 free, time trials
Finals (6 p.m.): 1,650 free, 100 IM, 200 back, 100 free, 200 breast, 200 fly, 400 free relay
