Complete Results
GETTYSBURG, Pa. – With their conference championship meet on the horizon, the nationally-ranked University Mary Washington swim teams made short work of both Gettysburg College teams in a non-conference dual meet hosted in the new pool inside The Center for Athletics, Recreation and Fitness Saturday afternoon.
Mary Washington, which closed out its dual-meet schedule on Saturday and next competes in the Capital Athletic Conference Championships on Feb. 12, earned decisive wins on both sides, with the 21st-ranked men’s team winning 187-75 and the fourth-ranked women’s squad winning 177-85.
Sophomore
Matt Libby (Freeport, Maine/Cheverus) was the lone Bullet from either team to cop a victory, winning both the 100 and 200 editions of the freestyle. He won the 200 by nearly four seconds with a season-best time of 1:44.45 and he took the 100 by nearly a full second in 47.64. He was denied the hat trick, however, as Stephen Clendenin out-touched him 1:58.53 to 1:59.58 in the 200 IM.
Two of the most exciting races on the afternoon involved sophomore
Drew Close (Berwyn, Pa./Haverford School). In the men’s first event, the 200 medley relay, Close anchored the team of junior
Adam Taft (Wilton, Conn./Wilton), sophomore
Roger Nawrocki (Acton, Mass./Acton-Boxborough Regional), and Libby to a close runner-up finish, touching just 0.45 behind Mary Washington’s quartet. Later in the day, Close made a run at the top spot in the 500 free, closing the final length in 28:08 and finishing just 0.65 behind Brad Dunn with a time of 4:55.99. The Bullet sophomore also finished third in the 50 free with a time of 22.65.
Other top finishes on the men’s side included runner-up showings by senior
Donald Bennett (Staten Island, N.Y./Monsignor Farrell) in the 100 back (57.34) and Taft in the 200 fly (2:01.97) and third-place finishes by Nawrocki in the 100 breast (1:03.43) and 200 breast (2:19.23), Taft in the 200 back (2:00.89), sophomore
Tom Everett (Timonium, Md./McDonogh School) in the 100 fly (56.28), and the 400 free relay team of Close, Nawrocki, Taft and Everett (3:24.07).
Gettysburg’s women’s team suffered their first dual loss of the season (6-1), but managed 10 runner-up finishes. Freshman
Caroline Coolidge (South Windsor, Conn./Kingswood-Oxford) posted three second-place efforts individually and began the day by anchoring the 200 medley relay of sophomore
Kayte Demont (Cumberland, Maine/North Yarmouth Academy), freshman
Brooke Lacey (Darien, Conn./Darien), and sophomore
Mariesa Slaughter (Harrisonville, Mo./Harrisonville) to a runner-up effort of 1:57.17. On her own, she finished second in the 200 free (2:01.04), 100 free (56.54), and 200 IM (2:18.73).
Senior co-captain
Alex Newman (Holmdel, N.J./Holmdel) earned a pair of runner-ups in the 500 free (5:27.31) and the 1000 free (10:59.84), in addition to a third-place finish in the 200 free (2:02.28). Junior
Maggie Mulderrig (Baltimore, Md./Notre Dame Prep) anchored the 400 free relay of freshmen
Cassie Close (Berwyn, Pa./Conestoga) and
Deirdre Purdy (Bedford, N.Y./Fox Lane) and junior
Susannah Ferrer (Darien, Conn./Darien) to a second-place finish (3:51.74) and she finished runner-up and third in the 50 free (25.53) and 100 free (56.78), respectively.
Additional top performances included Cassie Close in both the 100 back (3rd, 1:04.35) and 200 back (2nd, 2:17.28), Lacey in the 100 breast (3rd, 1:10.38) and 200 breast (3rd, 2:32.01), and Slaughter in the 200 fly (4th, 2:25.26) and 100 fly (2nd, 1:02.98).
Next up for Gettysburg is a Centennial Conference dual meet at Swarthmore College next Saturday, Jan. 30, at 2 p.m.
