Dec. 7, 2011
ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- The annual Army-Navy swimming and diving meet will take place Thursday evening at Crandall Pool in West Point, N.Y. Army's web site will be providing a video stream of the 6 p.m. combined meet for $9.95. A link to the stream is available at NavySports.com.
The Navy men's team enters the meet looking to remain undefeated on the season. The Mids, currently 7-0 on the year, have been off from competition since placing second at North Carolina's Nike Cup three weeks ago. Army's men's team is off to a strong start of its own this year as the Black Knights have won five of their six dual meets this fall.
The Navy women's team has posted a 5-2 record on the season and, like the Navy men, have had three weeks off from competition since finishing in fifth place at the Nike Cup. Meanwhile, Army's women's team prepares to play host to the Mids with a 2-5 record for the season.
Both Navy programs are placing long winning streaks in the series on the line Thursday. The women have won 22 consecutive meets against Army, while the men have emerged victorious after each of the last 20 encounters with the Black Knights.
"We are expecting a very competitive meet this year," said Navy men's swimming head coach Bill Roberts. "We have found that it is no easy task to be competitive at Army. We understand what we need to do to create a successful outcome."
"The results of last year's meet and the meets before that mean nothing this week," said Navy women's swimming head coach John Morrison. "Army is a much improved team and we know we will be challenged in every event."
Last year's meet between the two programs could not have gone much better for the Mids. The two Navy teams combined to set 19 meet records on their way to winning all 32 events contested during the meet. That led to the men winning by the score of 246-54 and the women coming away with a 240.5-59.5 victory.
The Navy women's team returns all but one of its athletes who recorded an individual event victory during last year's meet against Army. Pacing the team in the 2010 meet was Laura Gorinski (Jr., Greensburg, Pa.), who won the 200 individual medley and both breaststroke races a year ago. Four additional Mids picked up a pair of victories on the night. Rheanna Vaughn (So., Aliso Viejo, Calif.) won the 500 and 1000 freestyle races, Kellie Darmody (Jr., Charlotte, N.C.) swept the two backstroke events, Toni Paruso (Jr., Savannah, Ga.) won the two butterfly races and Jordyn Nicholl (Jr., Acworth, Ga.) won both diving boards.
Rounding out the list of returning individual event winners from last year are Colleen Randolph (So., Annapolis, Md.), who won the 50 freestyle race, and Hollis Capuano (Jr., Wallingford, Conn.), who won the 100 freestyle event.
A total of 11 Mids from the men's team won an individual event against Army last year, with nine of them returning for this year's meet. Headlining this list are double event winners Mac Anthony (Sr., Allentown, Pa.), Luke Hoffer (So., Chapel Hill, N.C.) and Steve Dukleth (Sr., Glen Ellyn, Ill.). Anthony won the 200 and 500 freestyle races, Hoffer swept the two breaststroke events and Dukleth recorded victories in both butterfly competitions.
Additional returning Mids who won an event last year are Justin Vagts (Jr., Crofton, Md.), 1650 freestyle; Gage Trotter (So., Conroe, Texas), 100 backstroke; Robbie Parker (Jr., Vienna, Va.), 50 freestyle; Zach Ingold (So., Hornell, N.Y.), 100 free; Conor Campbell (So., Manassas, Va.), 200 back; and Ben Bondurant (Jr., Atlanta, Ga.), 200 individual medley.
