JMU Wins 12 of 16 to Beat Georgetown, VMI

James Madison won 12 of 16 events to earn a pair of dual victories to open the season, topping host Georgetown 187.5-112.5 and VMI 254-21 on Saturday.

"We were excited as a team for our first meet of the season,” stated JMU head coach Samantha Smith.  “The girls did a good job competing with the people next to them and supporting each other through the meet.  Today was a good starting point for us to evaluate and move forward.  We are excited about the win and look forward to improving on what we saw today."

Juniors Lisa Colapietro (Hollidaysburg, Pa./Hollidaysburg) and Morgan McCarthy (Newcastle, Del./St. Mark’s) each had three event wins, pairing on the 200 medley relay race and each claiming a pair of individual titles.

Colapietro finished first in the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:08.39 and also claimed the 200 breast in 2:27.25.  McCarthy won the 100 backstroke in 1:00.92 and the 200 in 2:10.31.  Together they swam the first two legs of the 200 medley and were joined by senior P.J. Naber (Chantilly, Va./Chantilly), and junior Layne Eidemiller (Lititz, Pa./Warwick) in a time of 1:50.14.

Junior Jessie Everett (Arlington, Va./Yorktown) also had a pair of individual wins for JMU in the diving events.  She scored a 252.40 in the one-meter board and 260.25 in the three-meter dive.

Four other individuals claimed race titles, including a pair of distance wins by sophomore Lauren Kranz (Clifton, Va./James Robinson) in the 1,000 freestyle in 10:38.10 and sophomore Melissa Helock (Scotch Plains, N.J./Scotch Plains Fanwood) in the 500 free in 5:13.72.

The other individuals triumphs came in the 50 freestyle in 25.24 by junior Carly Gibson (Bethesda, Md./Academy of the Holy Cross) in her first meet with the Dukes after transferring from Miami (Ohio).  Sophomore Samantha Holland (Midlothian, Va./Midlothian) swam the 200 individual medley in 2:12.43.

JMU’s final win of the day came in the 200 free relay with junior Carrie Greene (Midlothian, Va./Granbury), junior Kristen Wolla (Arlington, Va./Yorktown), freshman Andrea Criscuolo (Point Pleasant, N.J./Point Pleasant), and Naber combining for a time of 1:41.29.

Smith added, "We have a lot of newcomers this year so it was good to see them compete for JMU for the first time.  The team came together as a unit and put forth a solid team effort.  I am proud of how our girls performed both in the water and on the boards."

The next meet for the Dukes will be Saturday, Oct. 31 with a noon event at Radford.



The VMI men’s swimming & diving team dropped a 223-49 dual to Georgetown at the Albert G. McCarthy, Jr. Swimming Pool on Saturday.
 
The Keydets were led by senior Will Rowcliffe, who notched the team’s only win, swimming the 50 freestyle in 22.26 seconds.  Rowcliffe also placed fourth in the 100 freestyle (49.94) and combined with sophomore Matt Elliott, senior Justin Ferrell and freshman Hank Purvis for a third-place finish in the 200 medley relay (1:44.74).  Rowcliffe also joined with Ferrell, Elliott and senior Tristan Euritt to place third in the 200 freestyle relay with a time of 1:31.05.
 
Other top performers included sophomore Matt Dale, who placed second in the 1000 freestyle (10:37.68), while freshman John Covert placed third in the 200 butterfly (2:10.06).  VMI picked up fourth-place finishes from Covert in the 100 butterfly (56.90), sophomore Matt Dale in the 200 backstroke (2:04.93) and freshman Marcus Sutter in the 200 breaststroke (2:40.14).
 
On the diving side, sophomore Dallas Disbro placed second in the one-meter with a 102.20 score.
 
The men’s swimming & diving team returns to action this Saturday, as Pfeiffer comes to the Clark King Hall Pool for a dual set to begin at 2 p.m.



In their first competition of the season, the VMI women’s swimming & diving team broke a pair of school records while competing against JMU and Georgetown at the Albert G. McCarthy, Jr. Swimming Pool on Saturday.
 
The Keydets started the day by setting a new 200 medley relay mark, as the team of junior Chelsea Nugent, freshman Kim Wheeler, junior Lizanne Carlos and sophomore Veronica Lentsch swam a 2:15.06 to best the old record by nearly two seconds.  Junior Briana Allard later established a new record in the one-meter dive, notching a score of 145.05 to surpass her own mark by over seven points. 
 
The team of Nugent, senior Ateala Tuff, Carlos and Lentsch later swam a 1:59.63 in the 200 freestyle in the team’s other relay event.
 
Individually, Nugent notched a pair of ninth-place finishes, coming in the 50 freestyle (27.34) and the 100 butterfly (1:07.17).  Tuff did the same in the 200 (2:31.73) and 500 freestyle (7:04.06) events.  Freshman Pin-Fen Chen touched the wall in 1:13.22 in the 100 backstroke, and 2:43.62 in the 200, while Wheeler’s 1:36.18 in the 100 breaststroke also placed her ninth.
 
The women’s swimming & diving team returns to action this Saturday, as Pfeiffer comes to the Clark King Hall Pool for a dual set to begin at 2 p.m.