ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Five events were held on the first night of the Patriot League Swimming and Diving Championship on Wednesday at Lejeune Hall in Annapolis, Md., and the Navy men's team claimed a pair of relay victories, including breaking the 800 freestyle relay record, while the women's team won the 800 freestyle relay and the women's divers claimed three of the top four spots to pace the Midshipmen on day one of competition.
"The 200 medley relay got the team off to a terrific start tonight," said Navy men's swimming head coach
Bill Roberts. "There were some areas within that race we know we could've been a little better and look forward to making those adjustments as we work through the meet. The 800 freestyle relay continued the momentum for our program. I'm very happy for those four who represented our program and the Naval Academy so well tonight."
"Overall, we were very pleased with the first night and have put ourselves in a good spot for the remainder of the weekend," said Navy women's swimming head coach
John Morrison. "Our medley relay did a great job battling through a last-minute switch due to health reasons. Super proud of their efforts. The 800 freestyle relay did an awesome job. Last year, we graduated two of our best relay swimmers (Casey Lawson and Lauren Barber) off this relay. It was nice to have two step up (Katie Corbi and Ali Kozlina) to the challenge and carry the load on the tradition with Martina Thomas and Erin Scudder. Our goal is to maintain the momentum of tonight into tomorrow morning. The divers really did a nice job on the first individual event. Their 1.2,4 finish was a great boost."
"What an incredible way to start off the Patriot League Championships," said Navy diving coach
Rich MacDonald. "I am so proud of how the women competed today. Hannah with the win and almost breaking her own meet record. The way that Meghan battled back after missing her first two dives to get back into the second place. And Caroline had the best meet of her life. She hit every dive in the finals. It was awesome. Hopefully, it sets the tone going into tomorrow with the men."
Competition continues with swimming trial heats Thursday, Feb. 20 at 10:00 a.m., with diving trials beginning at 1:00 p.m. and the session of finals for both swimming and diving starting at 6:00 p.m.
200 Medley Relay – Women
5th / 1:41.98
Navy opened up the swimming portion of the competition with a fifth-place finish in the 200 medley relay. The team of Ashley Boddiford (Oviedo, Fla.), Emily Brockman (Bend, Ore.), Sydney Harrington (Fairfax, Va.), and Sarah Sorensen (Gainesville, Fla.) finished 0:00.69 seconds out of first place in the first event of the day.
200 Medley Relay – Men
1st / 1:26.87
The quartet of
Caleb Mauldin (Chesapeake, Va.),
Dean Nguyen (Seattle, Wash.),
James Wilson (Lancaster, Pa.), and
Chris Mayer (Lakeway, Texas) opened up the 2020 swimming and diving competition by winning the 200 medley relay by nearly two full seconds with a time of 1:26.87.
3-Meter Diving – Women
1st – Hannah Montau (326.30); 2nd – Meghan Gerdes (316.75); 4th – Caroline Turner (300.10).
Navy won three of the top four spots in the women's 3-meter diving competition. Hannah Montau (Germantown, Md.) posted the victory with a total score of 326.30, while teammate Meghan Gerdes (Spring, Texas) claimed second place with a score of 3:16.75. Caroline Turner (Phoenixville, Pa.) finished in fourth place (300.10) for the Midshipmen to help Navy secure 52 points early in the competition.
800 Freestyle Relay – Women
1st / 7:11.38
Navy used a strong start by senior Erin Scudder (Western Springs, Ill.) to get things going in the 800m freestyle relay. Freshman Katie Corbi (Waxhaw, N.C.) continued the momentum in her first Patriot League Championship event. Ali Kozlina (Cranberry Township, Pa.) posted a strong third leg to set up Martina Thomas (Fayetteville, Ark.) in the final leg. Thomas out-touched her competition to secure the victory with a collective time of 7:11.38 to win the event.
800 Freestyle Relay – Men
1st / 6:22.72 (meet record / league record / pool record)
The men's 800 freestyle relay team of
Dominick Wallace (La Jolla, Calif.),
Ryan Waters (Basking Ridge, N.J.),
Jack Dunworth (Austin, Texas), and
Daniel Cook (Virginia Beach, Va.) jumped out to an early lead and never looked back as the foursome broke the meet, league, and pool record, previously set by Navy in 2016.
DAY 1 SCORES
Women's Team Scores
1. Navy – 120
2. Bucknell – 86
3. Boston U. – 85
3. Army West Point – 85
5. Lehigh – 76
6. Loyola – 61
7. Colgate – 53
8. American – 50
9. Holy Cross – 47
10. Lafayette – 28
Men's Team Scores
1. Navy – 80
2. Army West Point – 68
3. Loyola – 64
4. Lehigh – 58
5. Bucknell – 56
6. Boston U. – 54
7. Lafayette – 48
8. American – 40
9. Holy Cross – 36
10. Colgate – 32
