The GW men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams were blown away by the competition at the Pennsylvania State University Invitational Dec. 3-5.
The men’s team came in fourth out of six teams with a total of 307 points, more than 600 points behind Penn State’s first-place total of 958 points. The Nittany Lions men’s team won 19 of 20 total events at the three-day meet. The women’s team, which placed fourth out of five teams, finished with 336 points, far behind Penn State’s 804 points.
GW’s only victory of the entire tournament came Saturday, the final day of competition, in the women’s 500-yard freestyle, in which junior Jessica Skinner came in first with a time of 5:04.78. Freshman Jocelyn Finch also placed twice on the last day, coming in second in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:24.54) and fourth in the 200-yard individual medley (2:09.31).
In the 400-yard freestyle relay, the women placed third with a time of 3:36.35. The women’s 400-yard medley relay team also came in third with a time of 3:58.93. Skinner placed third in the 1,650-yard freestyle (17:17.41).
The men’s team improved somewhat over the course of the tournament, finishing in fifth place after the first day of competition, but ended up in fourth place. Both the 200-yard freestyle relay and the 400-yard medley relay teams placed third with times of 1:24.45 and 3:25.74, respectively. The 800-yard free relay team placed fourth with a time of (6:59.53).
Friday, junior Tim Champney placed second in the 100-yard backstroke (:50.07). Sophomore Alvaro Fortuny also placed second in his race, the 100-yard breaststroke, with a time of 58.21. In the 200-yard butterfly Juan Bocanegra placed third with a time 1:52.39.
Saturday, Tim Champney once again took second place, this time in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 1:49.19. Juan Bocanegra placed twice on the last day, taking second in the 200-yard individual medley (1:52.75) and third in the 100-yard butterfly (:50.68). In the 200-yard breaststroke, sophomore Mike Cottone took second with a time of 2:07.15. For the second straight day, Jeremy Hoders placed fourth in the diving competition, earning a point total of 530.65 in the one-meter event.
The GW swimming and diving teams’ next meet is Jan. 9 at the University of Delaware.
