Between the looming shadow of the basketball team and the gloom of their own losses, the swim team is traditionally overlooked on campus. Lately, though, the team is achieving outstanding results. While the team earned its first win just two weeks ago—at their 9th meet and second-to-last regular season contest—individual swimmers have been posting success from the start.
To include all of their performances would turn the rest of this article into a mere list, but there are a few superior feats that deserve mention. At the first meet of the season, both the men’s and women’s teams had swimmers qualify for the Big East postseason competition (sophomores Wes Going and Laura Alito in the 3×100 backstroke). Those performances have continued throughout the season, culminating in 32 out of 44 swimmers qualifying for the Big East Championships.
A couple of swimmers have even set records this season. At the Patriot Invitational meet in November, senior Caitlin Colling set a school record for the 100 yard freestyle (52.78). Colling also swam her way to the all-time top-ten for three more events, the 50 freestyle, 200 individual medley and 100 freestyle. She has qualified this season for the Big East Competition in the 200 freestyle, 50 freestyle and 100 freestyle.
Also at the Patriot Invitational, freshman Thomas Graham posted a freshman record in the 100 breaststroke (1:00.72), an event he will swim in the Big East Championship. Graham is evidence of the outstanding talent the team has brought in this season with their freshmen—15 of the 38 top times for the season are held by a freshman swimmer. Three of the women’s team freshmen and three of the men have performances that placed them in the all-time freshmen records.
A final swimmer to mention is junior Goran Bistric. Last season he swam three individual school records—the 100 butterfly (51.30), 100 backstroke (51.46) and 200 backstroke (1:51.25). He was also part of the 400 medley relay team that grabbed the school record last year. This year he has BE qualifying times in the 100 backstroke and 200 backstroke.
Looking at Georgetown’s all-time top 10 records for each event, nearly 40 percent of all the names are current swimmers, and the team is much better than their season finishes imply. The women’s team won two meets and the men amassed only one win.
Now, as the team heads into the postseason, they are beginning their taper period with hopes to achieve even faster times at the upcoming critical meets. Individual swimmers have succeeded all season, and they have no reason to stop now. Come the end of this month, Georgetown’s swimmers may be bringing even greater results to campus. Despite their losses, the swimmers are athletes to be proud of.
