Swimming tops St. Peter's

The swim season has just started and the ambitious Jays are already making waves. Both the men's and women's teams believe they can place in the top three schools at the NCAA Tournament that is held annually at the conclusion of the season.

But it has not been all successes for the Blue Jays this season. Last week, both the men's and women's teams lost to Maryland. The Jays, however, only sent half of their squad to Maryland on Friday as the rest of the team competed against St. Peters and Syracuse at Loyola. On Saturday, the entire team traveled to Loyola.

At Loyola, the results were mixed for the Jays. The men were dominant against St. Peter's, whom they demolished 243-19. Their results were also impressive against host Loyola, whom they defeated 208-112.

They did not do as well against Syracuse, who defeated Hopkins 219-111.

As for the women's team, the results were similar. They defeated St. Peter's 218-62, Loyola 182-138 and lost to Syracuse, 266-58.

The women's team got strong performances by senior Stephanie Harbeson, as well as freshmen Stephanie Leaman and Kristin Stepaniak, all of whom earned second place finishes.

The 200 meter medley relay team also finished in second place as did the 800 meter freestyle relay team.

Scott Armstrong was the standout for the men's team. He won the 1650 meter freestyle as well as the 500 meter freestyle. Senior Justin Brannock won the 200 meter freestyle.

The Jays also had a number of second place finishers. Freshmen Sean Kim and Matthew Chana each finished second in the 200 meter butterfly and 1650 meter freestyle, respectively. Junior Scott Pitz took second in the 100 meter and 200 meter breaststroke. Brannock also finished second in the 100 meter freestyle.

Against Maryland on Friday, the Jays struggled to compete, as the men's and women's teams managed to win only one event.

The women's team won the 300 meter breaststroke relay behind the strong efforts of two freshmen: Jessica Chang and Kristin Stepaniak, and junior Liz Schlicher. They won in a time of 3:31.10.

The 300 meter medley relay team finished in second place. Four of the men's relay teams finished second in the meet but none finished first.

These meets mark the start of a season filled with high expectations.

Last year, both teams had very successful seasons as the women placed No. 5 in the NCAA's, their highest rank in school history; while the men placed No. 2, falling only to Kenyon, Division III's powerhouse.

But even defeating Kenyon in swimming is not impossible for either team as they are now as strong or even stronger than they were last season.

Both the men's and women's teams intend to build on last year's success, as they are able to keep the core of their lineup because neither lost many swimmers to graduation.

The women's team lost only one senior, Krissy Brinsley; the men's team lost only two, Brett Fisher and William Freund. The plethora of returning swimmers will greatly aid both teams' quest for the NCAA championship.

"We have an extremely talented group of freshmen and our upperclass is still very strong. So, our goal is very much within reach," says women's team co-captain Liz Schlicher.

This year's women's team is led by co-captains Senior Stephanie Harbeson, Junior Emma Gregory and Junior Breaststroke and Liz Schlicher.

Seniors Scott Armstrong, Justin Brannock and David Lofhus co-captain the men's team.

These captains are the anchors of the team, and being veterans of collegiate and NCAA competition, they hope to be role models from which the younger swimmers can learn.

Both teams are coached by George Kennedy with assistants John Weitz and Chris Conlon. Last year, they won the NCAA Men's Coaching Staff of the Year award for the third straight time, and fourth time overall in 17 seasons at Hopkins.

Integral to the team's success is their camraderie. These teams do not only swim together, however; they are a "very close group of people," according to freshman swimmer Sida Liu.

They return to the pool this Saturday and Sunday, competing in and looking to win the Emory Invitational in Atlanta, Ga.