Though they wore pink swimsuits and caps as part of a breast cancer awareness promotion, the special outfits didn’t prove to be lucky for GW’s men’s and women’s swim teams as they both fell to Old Dominion Saturday at the Smith Center.
The losses to the Monarchs, by a 108-89 margin for the men and 112-77 for the women, didn’t weaken the Colonials’ spirits. They still “got up for every swim and supported teammates in the water,” freshman swimmer Paige Dingess said.
GW got off to a strong start with a victory in the women’s medley relay, but Old Dominion took first place in the next 15 events until senior Cissey Ye edged freshman teammate Sameer Al Bitar to win the women’s 500-yard freestyle with a time of 5:29.39.
Colonials took first place in the final five events after Ye’s win, but their grand total of 166 points wasn’t enough to claim victory for either team.
“We just swam a three-day meet the previous weekend, and with finals just around the corner, it is a very busy time in the semester,” women’s captain Katrina Timlin said. “I think that despite all these external factors, people were able to have some fast swims.”
Timlin praised Dingess for helping the team get a good start with her time of 25.47 in the women’s 200-yard medley relay.
Freshmen on the men’s side continued strong starts to their collegiate careers, taking the first four spots in the 500-yard freestyle event. Niklas Glenesk won the race, with Steve Nelson, Stephan Franke and Duncan Galler finishing second through fourth, respectively.
Freshman Paolo De Luca won the men’s 100-yard backstroke, with Franke and fellow freshman Stan Malinoski taking second and fourth place. Junior Andrew Maguire finished third in the event.
“Not only do the freshman boys help score some points, they all work together and make the team a fun group of people to be with,” Dingess said.
GW’s swim teams have experienced some struggles this year, but Timlin said she thinks the program will be on the rise in the near future.
“I think our main disadvantage is our small numbers and our consistency,” Timlin said. “The numbers will improve for next year, as we are looking to bring in a larger freshman class. I know that our coaches will use the upcoming training trip to throw us some very challenging practices, so I’m sure we’ll improve.”
The team will travel to Puerto Rico this winter for a training trip to prepare for Atlantic 10 competition, which begins next semester. GW’s first meet of 2010 will be against Rhode Island Jan. 15.
“Those meets will give us an opportunity to show everyone who GW swimming really is – a team with talent and spirit,” Dingess said.
