Swim season ends versus Navy, Towson

Last Wednesday, after the original meet was postponed due to inclement weather, the Hopkins men’s and women’s swim teams took part in a meet against Towson University and Navy in Annapolis.

The men’s team soundly defeated Towson 153-107 but fell just short against the Midshipmen, dropping the result by just three points 130-127. The men’s team finishes the dual meet portion of the season at 5-3-1.

The women’s team fell to Towson 192-68 and 166.5-80.5 to Navy. The losses were the first of the season for the Lady Jays, and they enter the postseason with a record of 6-2.

The men were led by junior Evan Holder, who won three events: the 200 Free, 200 Breast and 200 IM. Holder dominated the field in all three events, especially in the IM where he won by 3.60 seconds with a time of 1:50.69. All his times, which also included a 1:40.38 in the free and a 2:03.91, met the threshold to qualify for the NCAA Championships in March. Sophomore Kyle Otazu also posted a 3.5 second win in the 500 Free with a time of 4:35.07, a provisional time booking his ticket to the Championships alongside Holder.

Freshman Michael Wohl also posted a provisional time, finishing second in the 200 fly with a time of 1:52.57, which was also a career best.

Freshman Darren Loh finished second in the 200 Back and third in the 100 Back. The Jays also posted a number of additional third place finishes in the race, with Holder and sophomores Jan Hagemeister, Mark Wilson and Michael Ashmead finishing the 200 Medley with a time of 1:32.90.

Freshman John Chu finished the 100 Free with 47.28, and Wilson the 100 Fly in 50.52. Senior Billy Gravley finished the 1000 Free in 9:44.29, also good for third place.

On the women’s side, juniors Shirley Chan and Abby Brown and sophomores Anna Wisniewski and Kaitlin Jones led the team with a third place finish in the 200 Medley with a time of 1:47.42. Sophomore Courtney Cowan was the only other Lady Jay to finish in the top-three, finishing the 500 Free in 5:00.38 and qualifying for the NCAA Championships. Wisniewski also had stand out performances in the 100 Back and 50 Free, where she placed in fifth and fourth places, respectively.

“I think we did a great job going into each dual meet and really getting after it,” Ashmead said. “Each one of us was able to step up and be competitive and race really well.”

Both the men’s and women’s teams will next compete at the Bluegrass Mountain Conference Championships next week in Rock Hill, S.C. from the Feb. 10 to 13. They will then travel to North Carolina for NCAA Championships from March 16 to 19, which will conclude their 2015-16 season.