Dec. 3, 2007

Washington, D.C. - The Georgetown swimming and diving team lost a BIG EAST Conference meet to visiting Villanova on Saturday afternoon at McCarthy Pool. The men lost, 140-100, in a close meet while the women dropped a 148-89 decision to the Wildcats. The program as a whole set 13 new season-best times and the men are now 0-7 with a 0-3 slate in BIG EAST Conference action while the women carry a 1-6 record with a 0-3 mark in league action.

Four new postseason qualifiers highlighted the meet as two men and two women qualified for the BIG EAST Conference Championship. Senior Caitlin Colling (Monson, Mass./Monson) made a BE cut time when she took third place in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:58.11. Freshman diver Caitlin Karniski (Tampa, Fla./Berkeley Prep) won the three-meter diving event with a score of 261.00 to qualify for the postseason. On the men's side, sophomore Brian Koh (Rowland Heights, Calif./Damien) finished the 200 freestyle in second place, timing in at 1:47.41 to hit a BIG EAST cut time while freshman Hamilton Jordan (Frisco, Texas/Jesuit College Prep) took first in the 200 individual medley with a time of 2:00.39 to make the postseason.

On the men's side, sophomore Wes Going (St. Louis, Mo./St. Louis University High) and freshman Thomas Graham (Washington, D.C./St. Albans) both took home a pair of top performances each. The two teamed up with juniors Goran Bistric (Saugus, Calif./William S. Hart) and David Ballinger (Pleasantville, N.Y./Pleasantville) to win the 400 medley relay with a time of 3:34.56. They were followed up by the quartet of sophomore James LiVolsi (Scotch Plains, N.J./St. Peter's Prep) and freshmen Kevin Taylor (Malverne, N.Y./Chaminade), Jordan and Tom Crecelius (West Lafayette, Ind./West Lafayette). Going then took first place in the 200 backstroke, timing in at 1:59.89 followed by junior Daniel Robinson (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mount Lebanon) who took second with a time of 2:01.56. Graham won the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:17.40.

Jordan took first in the Hoya-dominated 200 individual medley as Robinson, freshman Ray Zomerfeld (Coral Gables, Fla./Belin Jesuit Prep) and Ballinger followed up in second, third and fourth, respectively. Jordan also turned in a second-place finish in the 200 butterfly, timing in at 1:57.36. Rounding out the second-place finishes was the 400 freestyle relay quartet of Koh, Crecelius, freshman Bryce Hillman (Hamilton, N.J./The Peddie School) and Going, that finished the race with a time of 3:20.05.

The women's team controlled the 200 breaststroke as freshman Katherine Lee (New York, N.Y./Spence) took first place with a time of 2:30.96 and was followed up by sophomores Emma Porteus (Centerville, Mass./Barnstable) and Emma Denvir (Bethesda, Md./Stone Ridge) in second and third place, respectively, while junior Christina DiNapoli (Saddle River, N.J./Immaculate Heart) finished fourth.

In the 400 freestyle relay, two teams donning the Blue and Gray owned the top finishes. Colling teamed up with freshmen Megan Harvey (Norristown, Pa./Academy of Notre Dame de Namur) and Mallory Kiplinger (Darien, Conn./Darien) and sophomore Laura Stark (Martinsville, N.J./Mount St. Mary) to take first place with a time of 3:41.94. Following behind them was the quartet of Porteus, sophomores Lindsay Vickroy (Wayne, Pa./Conestoga) and Laura Alito (West Caldwell, N.J./James Caldwell) and senior Kelcy Poulson (New Canaan, Conn./Greenwich) in second place.

This concludes the first half of the 2007-08 swimming and diving season. The Hoyas return to the water in 2008. They will first travel to Puerto Rico for a training trip and continue with competition on Friday, January 18 with a meet at American. The women will compete in a double-dual meet as they will not only swim against the Eagles, but they will also compete against James Madison.