ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy swimming and diving teams put together a strong Saturday of competition to successfully close out the Patriot League Championship at Lejeune Hall in Annapolis, Md. The Navy men's team totaled 1792 points to win the meet by 582 points over Army, while the women's team tallied 1427.5 points to close with a 134-point margin of victory over the second-place Black Knights.
 
For the men, the title is the 21st in their 22 years of competing at the meet. On the women's side, the championship is the 14th in a row and the 24th for the women, which is the most of any individual sport in Patriot League history.
 
"The position we were in a year ago is something this program hasn't been in before," men's swimming head coach Bill Roberts said after the meet. "We had to learn a lot about ourselves. We had to figure out what we needed to do to get better – athletically and as competitors. There is a very formidable foe within the conference who earned the championship last year. I think we learned a lot. I cannot say enough great things about this team and how quickly they bought into redemption and working hard and finding ways to get better all year long. They have been working hard to get this program where we feel we should operate. The meet specifically was really special. We had a hunch that it could be very special, but you still have to perform on game day. I think that is one of the things I am most proud of is that these guys really came through for each other and had a really terrific four days of competition."
 
"We are thrilled with the performance of the whole team," remarked women's swimming head coach John Morrison. "It was a team win. Our depth really showed up. Everybody really performed well. We are pleased with how the meet went. The highlights, certainly Lauren Walsh qualifying [for the NCAA Championship]. Just the personal bests and the fun we had throughout the week. The support from our parents; our alumni that came back to watch; it was just incredible. We were really excited to do it in front of our home crowd and the electric environment. It was a good meet overall. We still have some work to do moving forward, but we were excited to get this win, no doubt about it."
 
Up next, the men's and women's swimming and diving teams will head to Lewisburg, Pa. for the ECAC Championship on Friday-Sunday, Feb. 27-March 1.
 
1650 Freestyle
Women
Sarah Elkridge clocked a time of 16:38.23 to finish second in the 1650 freestyle with teammate Brynn Stoneburg (16:55.49) and Marin Rose (17:05.83) finishing fourth and sixth, respectively.
 
Men
Chase Maier (14:54.68) and Ben Mauldin (15:12.08) finished 1-2 in the event with teammate Luca Oliva (15:33.87) claiming seventh. Maier's first-place finish and time qualified the freshman for the NCAA Championship.
 
200 Backstroke
Women
Ela Habjan posted a time of 1:58.59 to finish fourth in the 200 backstroke, while Allie Maloney claimed sixth in the event with a time of 1:59.30.
 
Men
Led by first-place finisher Ben Irwin's NCAA qualifying time of 1:40.13, Navy placed five swimmers in the top eight of the 200 backstroke. Martin Perecinsky (1:41.25) finished third with Tyler Kaminski (1:43.35) taking fourth and Will Jones (1:44.47) and Coleman Yates (1:45.40) taking fifth and sixth.
 
100 Freestyle
Women
Erin Miller posted a time of 49.95 in the 100 freestyle to finish third in the event.
 
Men
The Midshipmen finished 2-3 and 7-8 in the 100 freestyle to add 100 points to its team total. Preston Kessler (42.50) and Ben Denman-Grimm (42.73) finished back-to-back in second and third with Lachlan Andrew (43.69) and Xavier Sohovich (43.76) closing out the A-Final.
 
200 Breaststroke
Women
In the 200 breaststroke, Navy finished second through fifth to amass 106 points in the A-Final. Lauren Walsh earned silver with a time of 2:11.66, while Corinne Warriner took bronze with a 2:11.90. Marley Barnard (2:15.22) and Maddie Koutavas (2:15.59) finished just off of the podium in fourth and fifth, correspondingly.
 
Men
Michael Phillips punched his ticket to the NCAA Championship, winning the 200 breaststroke with an NCAA qualifying time of 1:52.82. He was joined on the podium by teammate Juan Mora who finished second with a time of 1:54.20, while Gavin Green was just outside of the top three with a fourth-place finish with a time of 1:55.93.
 
200 Butterfly
Women
Clarice Spencer and Allie Maloney were the top finishers for the Mids in the A-Flight of the 200 butterfly. Spencer clocked a time of 2:02.38 to finish sixth with Maloney a second back with a 2:03.70 to take eighth.
 
Men
In the men's 200 fly, Dean Jones punched his ticket to NCAAs with a first-place time of 1:41.87. He was followed by teammate Tyler Kaminski, who clocked a time of 1:44.55 to take second. Ben Mauldin placed fifth with a time of 1:46.63 to close out the Mids' A-Flight performers.
 
Women's 3-Meter Diving
MacKenzie Kim finished second overall with a score of 320.05, while Lily Barrett (275.85), Claire Ellish (275.10), and Cassi Adams (263.10) claimed fourth through sixth.
 
400 Freestyle Relay
Women
The Midshipmen closed out the championship with a third-place finish in the 400 freestyle relay. The quartet of Samantha Clifford, Erin Miller, Lauren Walsh, and Sarah Eldridge clocked a collective time of 3:22.08 to finish third and cement the victory for Navy.
 
Men
In the final race of the championship, the Navy team of Preston Kessler, Ben Denman-Grimm, Lachlan Andrew, and Dean Jones combined for an NCAA provisional time of 2:50.16 to win the relay.