Swim teams finish fifth at Patriot Invitational
The swimming teams both grabbed fifth-place finishes at the Patriot Invitational at George Mason University this weekend.
The men’s team earned 385 points, and the women’s posted 399 to grab the berth in a field of eight teams. Competition extended over Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
“The entire meet was a great experience. Everyone turned in a season-best swim and some even put up some lifetime-best swims, and to do that at this time of the year, that’s exciting,” head coach Dan Rhinehart said.
Thursday, sophomore Caroline Myers swam a 4:58.75 in the 500-yard freestyle, taking home a third-place finish. The 400-yard medley relay team of sophomore Lindsay Moore, freshman Janica Lee, freshman Morgan Zebley and sophomore Sydney Saunders finished fourth of 16 teams in 3:52.04. The 200-yard freestyle relay team of sophomore Sloan Saunders, Lee, Saunders and Zebley also took home a fourth-place finish – with a time of 1:37.24 – just behind first-place George Mason.
Friday, Zebley grabbed a first-place finish for the Colonials in the 100-yard butterfly finals, touching the wall in 55.53. Myers opened competition Saturday in the 1650-yard freestyle, snagging a second-place finish with a time of 17:05.58. Lee grabbed a third-place finish in the 200-yard breaststroke, finishing in 2:22.90, and freshman Bianca Valencia won the 200-yard consolation final with a time of 2:09.07. It was a record of success, Rhinehart said, but not one he wants his team to get comfortable with.
“No matter how well everything falls into place or how fast they swim, you can always find something that needs improving. Everything from technique to training to getting the proper ‘rest,’ ” Rhinehart said. “We managed to put together a great combination of all of that for this week’s meet.”
The men’s 200-yard freestyle relay team of junior Luke Quimby, sophomore Niccolo Wilson, junior Alex Etz and senior Marshall Seedorff opened its competition with a fifth-place finish. Seedorff also placed third in the 50-yard freestyle race, posting a time of 20.95, just 0.17 seconds behind the second place finisher. Junior Phillip Graeter grabbed a fifth-place finish in the 400-yard individual medley Friday, and fellow junior Niklas Glenesk took home a third-place finish in the 200-yard freestyle finals.
Saturday, Graeter won the consolation final in the 200-yard backstroke, finishing in 1:51.00, and freshman Garrett Cottingham finished the 200-yard breaststroke final in fifth place.
The Colonials will look to continue improving as the season progresses, Rhinehart said, emphasizing his team members’ focus on achieving their goals and pushing themselves in practice daily.
“This is our mid-season measuring-stick and at this point, I would say we get a ‘B+,’ ” Rhinehart said. “We have some more work to do before I can say ‘A+,’ but we’re working on it.”
The Colonials next host Old Dominion Dec. 3 at 1 p.m.
Number Crunch: 17
The number of Virginia Tech turnovers the Colonials forced during Saturday’s home game.
