FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason men's and women's swimming teams are set to open the 2017-18 season, competing in the annual Potomac Relay Invitational at 3 p.m. on Friday at Frailey Pool at Bender Arena in Washington, D.C.

The Patriots will compete against American, Georgetown, Howard and VMI in the event. 

Teams will compete in the 200-yard medley relay, 500-yard freestyle relay, 800-yard freestyle relay, 1000-yard freestyle relay and butterfly, backstroke and breaststroke 3X100 relays.

"It's a big class of 22 newcomers for the men's and women's team combined," Mason head coach Peter Ward said.  "I'm excited to see how they react to the training we are doing and their first meet.  We also have strong leadership with seniors Alec Morin, Matthew Lynch and Steven Craig on the men's side and Amy Tansill, Rachel Williams and Dorothy Reilly on the women's side."

Morin and Craig each finished with five individual first place finishes last season, while Lynch won four individual events.  Reilly finished last season with nine individual first place finishes, second-most on the team.

Last season, both the Mason men's and women's teams finished first out of the four teams at the Potomac Relays, winning 17 of the 18 events with the only loss a second place finish in the 3X100 butterfly relay.  The Patriots women's team finished with 126 points, while the men's team finished with 122 points.

The Patriots begin the season with nine seniors, five juniors and 10 sophomores returning from last year's roster.  The returners will be joined by 22 newcomers for the 2017-18 campaign.