March 2, 2006
• Thursday Prelims Results
• Thursday Finals Results
EAST MEADOW, N.Y. - Navy's 400-yard medley relay broke the school record by nearly a full second on Thursday as the Midshipmen men's swimming and diving team ended the first day of the EISL Championship at the Nassau County Aquatic Center in fifth place.
Princeton holds the top spot after the first day of action with 437 points, followed by Harvard's 333 points, Cornell's 292 points, Columbia's 253 points, Navy's 247 points, Brown's 241 points, Yale's 226 points, Penn's 161 points and Dartmouth's 86 points.
"We had some ups and downs today," said Navy head coach Bill Roberts. "We were pleased with our 400-yard medley relay that set a school record. It could have been a little bit better, but we were happy to finish the day on a high note."
Junior Kevin Mukri (Silver Spring, Md.), sophomore Kevin Kysiak (Western Springs, Ill.), senior Mike Linn (Newhall, Calif.) and senior Joe Smutz (Marriottsville, Md.) comprised the relay that posted a time of 3:19.96 that finished in fifth-place on Thursday evening, besting the previous Academy record of 3:20.75 set at the 2004 Patriot League Championship. Mukri posted a season-best time in the 100-yard backstroke portion of the relay with a 50.31-second effort. Kysiak swam the second leg in 56.76 seconds, followed by Linn's 48.76-second effort in the third leg and Smutz's 44.13-second time in the 100-yard freestyle component.
Linn posted Navy's highest swimming finish with a NCAA B-Cut qualifying time to place third in the 50-yard freestyle. Linn completed in a season-best time of 20.20 seconds during the prelims before registering a 20.26-second showing in the event during the finals to place third.
Smutz also joined Linn in the 50-yard freestyle A-group finals, recording 20.45-second times in both the prelims and finals to finish in eighth-place.
Smutz, sophomore Matt Wood (Evergreen Park, Ill.), junior Andrew Plumb (Altadena, Calif.) and Linn comprised Navy's 200-yard freestyle unit that posted a time of 1:21.29 to place fourth. The 200-yard freestyle relay etched its name into the record books, as the time on Thursday was the 10th-best in school history. Smutz recorded a NCAA B-Cut time in the opening leg with a 20.31-second clocking. Plumb and Linn combined to swim the final-100 yards in 40.24 seconds, as Plumb timed in at 20.31 seconds during the third-leg while Linn swam the anchor leg in 19.93 seconds.
Junior Kevin Teague (Lexington, Ky.) finished third on the one-meter diving board with a score of 292.50 points. Sophomore Zach Templin (Holt, Mich.) placed 12th in the one-meter diving finals with a tally of 249.40 points.
Navy's competitors in the 200-yard individual medley finals all registered season-best times on Thursday. Freshman Billy Vey (Huntersville, N.C.) notched a time of 1:52.84 in the prelims before a 1:52.74 showing in the finals to place 11th. Vey's time during the finals ranks as the 10th-fastest time in program history. Sophomore Andrew Thorn (Elizabethtown, Pa.) registered his fastest time of the season in the prelims with a 1:53.52 clocking, while sophomore Christopher Jenkins (Chicago, Ill.) swam the 200-yard individual medley in 1:53.67 during the prelims.
"All of our 200 IM guys got good points," stated Roberts. "They all had very decent swims for us."
The Midshipmen will compete in the 200-yard medley relay, 1000-yard freestyle, 400-yard individual medley, 200-yard freestyle, 100-yard breaststroke, 100-yard backstroke and 800-yard freestyle relay during the second day of the EISL Championship tomorrow at the Nassau County Aquatic Center. The prelims are schedule to get underway at 11 a.m., followed by the finals at 6 p.m.
