Shira Saperstein
Coming off a sweep against Howard last week in their final home meet of the season, the men and women’s swimming and diving teams looked to finish the regular season with a trip to College Park to face the University of Maryland. Both teams were defeated by the Terps, but the main goal of the meet—to have as many swimmers and divers as possible qualify for the upcoming Big East Championships—was accomplished, with six Hoyas garnering berths.
On the women’s side, divers Rebecca Jenkinson and Angela Pontes qualified for the NCAA Zone A Diving Championships, each setting personal records in the 3 meter dive at the meet. Jenkinson’s score of 281.93 also secured her a school record. Freshman Laura Noisten also swam 1:11.53 in the women’s 100 breaststroke, qualifying her for the Big East Championships.
The men’s team was able to qualify five more Hoyas for the Big East championships during the meet against Maryland with Brad Murray, Tom Cooke, Keenan Timko, Robert Gokey, and Alexander Robinson all reaching the required times by swimming to new personal records.
Both squads are looking toward the Big East Championships, with the divers starting competition on Friday and swimming starting next Wednesday.
“This is why we train for 26 weeks,” Head Coach Steven Cartwright said. “It’s the culmination of everything we’ve worked for.”
Cartwright has high hopes for his Hoyas, bringing Georgetown’s largest ever Big East Championship team to Pittsburgh. He attributes much of the team’s success this year to the team’s strong leadership, notably from the captains.
“They’ve been instrumental to the direction of the team since we started this journey back on September 1,” Cartwright said.
Cartwright anticipates the Hoyas to show very well in Pittsburgh.
“I expect everyone to go out there and have a lifetime best meet,” Cartwright said. “If we can bring back lots of top-8 and top-16 finishers, while improving on our point total from last year, then the meet will be a success.”
Heading into the meet, the men hope to make up for an underwhelming season—while the women, bolstered by a particularly strong crop of freshmen, seek to finish off their successful run with a solid post-season.
