Lehigh at Army
- Jan. 11, 2019
- Men: Army 203.5 to 96.5
- Women: Lehigh def. Army 164.5 to 135.5
- Results
Courtesy: Lehigh Athletics
BETHLEHEM, Pa. — The Lehigh women’s swimming and diving team made history on Friday afternoon. Already riding a six-meet winning streak, the Mountain Hawks got the best of Army West Point, defeating the Black Knights 164.5-135.5 on Senior Day at Jacobs Pool to improve to 7-1 on the season.
7-1 is Lehigh’s best start to a season since 1999-00 and the win over Army is the Mountain Hawks’ second in as many years.
The meet started off on the right foot in the 200 medley relay with the team of sophomore Anna Francisco, senior Allison Morel, sophomore Olivia Giampietro and junior Payton Miles getting the first place finish with a time of 1:46.77. The B-team of Nicole Shek, Anna Thomas, Malia Wolf and Evie Gieseman finished third place with a time of 1:48.25.
Ann Foley picked up the victory in the 200 freestyle with a winning time of 1:51.65 to beat out senior Courtney Ferreira (1:53.20) and Carly Rutledge (1:57.86) for the first 1-2-3 sweep of the afternoon.
Francisco and Shek just barely beat out Army’s Cecelia Croman in the 100 back, as Francisco swam to a time of 58.06 and Shek finished third at 58.09. Croman got the victory with a 58.01.
It was another 1-2-3 sweep for the Mountain Hawks in the 200 fly, with Malia Wolf getting the first place finish with a 2:08.38, finishing ahead of fellow teammates senior Kate Bergin (2:09.70) and Sarah Horne (2:10.08).
Foley got the better of Miles in the 50 free by just .02 seconds, swimming to a first place finish of 23.72, while Miles had a 23.74.
On the diving side, Megan Fennell got a second place finish in the one-meter dive with a score of 259.87 and senior Rayna Smilowitz finished fourth with a score of 222.90. Fennell got an additional second place finish in the three-meter with a 233.47. Smilowitz finished third with a 223.88.
Miles, Ferreira and Foley finished 1-2-3 in the 100 free with times of 51.75, 52.05 and 52.29, respectively.
Giampietro got her first place finish in the 100 fly, with Wolf finishing third to give Lehigh an additional three points.
The women took the sweep in the 200 IM with Ferreira beating Annie Norris by just under two seconds with a 2:08.80. Norris’ second place time was a 2:10.24, while Liz Olszewski finished in third place with a 2:11.05.
Finally, the Mountain Hawks finished off the meet with a big victory in the 400 free relay as Foley, Giampietro, Ferreira and Miles dominated the competition with a 3:31.06, finishing ahead of Army’s Mia Rankin, Bailey Smith, Sammie Edwards and Madison Berg, who swam a 3:37.16.
“Army’s women are tough and do not let up,” said head coach Rob Herb following the victory. “We focused on us and who we are and that made the difference.
“During this time of hard training, getting up for a meet can be physically challenging, but our girls used their minds to overcome it. A big thanks to the Lehigh Sports Psychology group that works with us. The bodies just went along for the ride and won.”
The women will look to finish out the dual meet season on an eight-meet winning streak when they visit Bucknell on Jan. 26.
It wasn’t the result they were looking for, but the Lehigh men’s swimming and diving team left Jacobs Pool with their heads held high after falling to Army West Point 203.5-96.5 on Senior Day Friday afternoon.
The loss drops the Mountain Hawks to 5-2 on the season, snapping their five-meet win streak dating back to Oct. 6 at Boston U. The Black Knights are also now 48-0 all-time against Lehigh.
Lehigh got its first victory in the 200 free event with junior Walker Wilson getting the win with a time of 1:40.11, beating out Army’s Kevin Lin (1:40.30). Wilson also won the 500 free with a winning time of 4:33.27. Wilson finished in second place in the 50 free with a time of 21.37.
The Mountain Hawks took the final event of the afternoon, the 400 free relay, with a winning time of 3:07.16, thanks to Joey Rogers, Greg Giannella, Max Goldenberg and Wilson.
Second-place finishes were a common theme for Lehigh, who struggled to get past a very quick Black Knight team, who have shown their dominance on many occasions this season.
The team of Owen Thomas, Tyler Christ, Teddy Smith and Giannella took second in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:34.05.
Kevin Fleck and Greg Gardner finished in second and third place with a time of 9:38.27 and 9:44.99, respectively in the 1000 free.
Thomas swam a 52.67 in the 100 back for second place, while Rogers tied for second with Army’s Nate Hein in the 100 free with a 47.43.
In diving, Tyler Keller finished in second place in the one-meter dive with a score of 263.69. He also placed second in the three-meter with a 258.75.
“We had huge, huge efforts and great results, but the Army men are tough as nails,” said head coach Rob Herb. “It was great to compete and even catch a few wins on the day.”
Lehigh will attempt to close out the dual meet schedule on a high note when the Mountain Hawks visit Bucknell on Jan. 26.
Courtesy: Army Athletics
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Army West Point women’s swimming and diving team dropped a Patriot League dual to Lehigh, 164.5-135.5, on Friday afternoon at Jacobs Pool.
The Black Knights (2-3, 0-2 Patriot League) won seven events against the Mountain Hawks (7-1, 4-0 Patriot League).
ARMY NOTABLES
- In her first event of 2019, Monica Sowinski swam to a first-place finish in the 1000 free once she touched the wall at 10:30.62. Sidney Evans followed right behind and took second with a time of 10:38.72.
- Cecelia Croman highlighted the 100 back, posting the top in the event at 58.01.
- The Black Knights made it back-to-back event victories once Kara Wineinger placed first in the 100 breast with her time of 1:04.58. Rebecca Morel finished second at 1:07.12.
- The duo once again repeated as the top finishers, but this time in the 200 breast once Wineinger won the event at 2:22.53 before Morel placed second with her time of 2:24.88.
- Serica Hallstead shined on both boards. The junior won the 1-meter with a score of 273.67, before posting a first-place total of 259.12 on the 3-meter.
- The top-two spots in the 200 back went to Josephine Marsh and Croman. Marsh led the way at 2:06.32, while Croman followed at 2:06.77.
WENDER’S WORDS
“We swam tough against an inspired Lehigh team on their senior day,” head coach Mickey Wender said. “Lehigh was ready for us and swam great today. We did a good job overcoming some adversity, especially after traveling back from Florida and a long reorganization week. I thought we got better as the day went on and we will be a lot better tomorrow at Bucknell. We’re at the peak of our training, coming off a 10-day training camp in Orlando. Executing well while in heavy training is a learned skill and an important part of the developmental process. We were tough and we’re getting better every day.”
UP NEXT
The Black Knights return to action tomorrow afternoon for a 1 p.m. Patriot League dual against Bucknell in Lewisburg, Pa.
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Army West Point men’s swimming and diving team captured a 203.5-96.5 over Lehigh in a Patriot League dual on Friday afternoon at Jacobs Pool.
The Black Knights (3-2, 1-1 Patriot League) won 12 events opposite the Mountain Hawks (5-2, 2-2 Patriot League) to secure their first league win of the season.
ARMY NOTABLES
- The Black Knights started off 2019 with a win in the 200 medley relay. The group of Brian McKenrick, Brady Almand, Kevin Doo and Josh Zock took first at 1:33.73.
- Tom Ottman picked up the victory in the 1000 free after clocking in at 9:33.67.
- In the 100 back, it was Brian McKenrick capturing the event victory with his time of 50.49. The sophomore later secured his second individual event win of the day after touching the wall at 1:51.12 in the 200 back.
- Army swept the 100 breast led by Evan Zhang‘s time of 56.80, which broke a pool record. Ty Dang (58.98) and Brady Almand (59.00) followed the freshman in the event, placing second and third, respectively.
- The top-two spots in the 200 fly went to James Bilbrey and Arthur Fan. Bilbrey posted a time of 1:51.47, while Fan came in at 1:55.53.
- Zock paced the Cadets in the 50 free and beat out the competition by touching the wall at 21.13.
- On the 1-meter board, Daniel Alaimo totaled the top score of 281.02, while Hudson Kay‘s total of 281.47 won the 3-meter.
- The 100 free went to Army as Kevin Doo’s time of 47.29 bested the rest of the pack. Nathan Hein tied for second in the event after finishing at 47.43.
- Doo would later go on to win the 100 fly, while Bilbrey took second.
- Army swept the 200 IM as Peter Mikheyev paced the way with a time of 1:52.59. Brian McKenrick (1:54.48) and Jay Yang (1:57.18) finished second and third, respectively.
WENDER’S WORDS
“We swam tough against an inspired Lehigh team on their senior day,” head coach Mickey Wender said. “Lehigh was ready for us and swam great today. We did a good job overcoming some adversity, especially after traveling back from Florida and a long reorganization week. I thought we got better as the day went on and we will be a lot better tomorrow at Bucknell. We’re at the peak of our training, coming off a 10-day training camp in Orlando. Executing well while in heavy training is a learned skill and an important part of the developmental process. We were tough and we’re getting better every day.”
