Blue Jays notch 4th place at final meet

For the second year in a row, the Hopkins men’s swimming team took fourth at the 2014 NCAA Championships that were held Saturday night. Perpetual power Kenyon took home its second straight title with a team score of 480 points, followed by Denison with 472. Emory took third with 246.5 points, followed by the Blue Jays — a mere 1.5 points behind with 245 points. MIT took fifth at the Championships with 236.

On the final day of competition in Indianapolis, freshman Andrew Greenhalgh got the Jays started on the right foot with a second place finish in the 1650 meter freestyle event that was good enough for first-team All-American honors and the best finish for a Blue Jay swimmer in the event. Greenhalgh’s time of 15:12.98 shattered Scot Anderson’s school record set in 2002 by over seven seconds.

Greenhalgh broke another of Anderson’s records at the Championships, besting Anderson’s mark in the 1,000 meter swim by a full 9.6 seconds with a 9:13.13 split.

“I came into the season with pretty ambitious goals and walked away with what I set out to accomplish,” Greenhalgh said. “It honestly would not have been possible without coach Kennedy, Nikki, and Sam and the training they gave me. This was the most incredible swim season I had, not just in terms of accomplishments, but in the experience as well.”

The freshman from Kensington, Md. credited senior leadership for the team’s success this year. “[The seniors] were the mental and social support that helped me every step of the way.”

Those seniors had more than just outstanding leadership to contribute to Saturday’s fourth-place finish, however. Senior Anthony Lordi placed seventh in the championship swim in the 100 Freestyle swim. His 44.72 split was the seventh fastest in program history. The time was good enough to give Lordi First Team All-American honors in the event.

Lordi’s time at the NCAA Championships was his career best. “I was very happy that I could make my last 100 a personal best,” Lordi said. “The past two years I had missed out on making the final in the 100 by only a few hundredths so being able to get in to the A-final in my final year meant a lot.”

Junior Dylan Davis finished fourth in the 400 backstroke with a time of 1:46.32. That split was the second-fastest in school history and good enough to make Davis a First Team All-American for the 10th time already in his career.

Davis commented on what it took to prepare for a meet of this magnitude. “Obviously there's a physical side to it — we rest a lot more before a championship meet, but the mental aspect is the larger part of the battle,” Davis said. “It's easy to get nervous and psych yourself out at a big meet, so it's important to prepare for those nerves before hand so that when the moment you've been training for the whole season comes around you can make the most of it.”

The Hopkins 400 Free Relay team also found success at the Championships, bringing home a win in the consolation final. The relay began with senior Will Kimball, who led things off with a 45.41 swim, followed by freshman Evan Holder, who went 45.14. Junior Greg Kogut followed Holder with a 45.91 leg, and the anchor Lordi turned in a 44.08 to give Hopkins the victory. The relay team earned an Honorable Mention All-American distinction for their efforts.

The NCAA Championships marked the end of the careers of the Blue Jay seniors. Lordi will graduate with 21 All-American honors, tying him for eighth in program history in this category. Kimball earned five All-American awards at the Championships, giving him 12 for his career. Senior Joe Acquaviva took home three All-American honors to bring his total to 12 throughout his four years.

“Being able to accumulate so many All-American honors is really a testament to all of the great teammates that I've been able to swim with during my four years on this team,” Lordi said. “The majority of the All-American honors that I've earned have been as a part of a relay and those are the ones that have meant the most to me.”