James Madison vs Towson (W)
- Saturday, January 15, 2022
- Harrisonburg, Va.
- Results
Courtesy: JMU Athletics
HARRIOSNBURG, Va. – The James Madison swimming & diving team avenged their season-opening loss to Towson as they defeated the Tigers, 188-110, on Saturday afternoon as part of Senior Day at Savage Natatorium.
The Dukes move to 4-2 overall and 4-1 in league meets, while Towson falls to 2-4 and 1-2 in league meets.
– The Dukes placed a swimmer in every event on the afternoon, picking up 12 first place finishes out of the 16 events.
– The team of Cameron Gring, Abby Zindler, Morgan Whaley and Jordyn Schnell began the meet with a first-place finish in the 400 Medley Relay with a time of 3:51.29.
– JMU picked up back-to-back sweeps in the 200 Free and the 100 Back. Emily Visscher (1:53.85), Grace Bousum (1:54.17) and Karen Siddoway (1:54.64) placed in the 200 Free while Sydni Diehl (58.30), Lauren Aylmer (58.34) and Emily Drakopoulos (58.36) placed in the 100 Back.
– In addition to the finishing first in the 400 Medley Relay, Gring added two more first-place finishes in the 100 Breaststroke (1:06.75) and 200 Backstroke (2:04.34) and a second-place finish in the 200 IM (2:07.59).
– Jess Pryne went three-for-three finishing first in all the events she competed in. She swam a time of 2:06.45 in the 200 Fly, a 5:00.46 in the 500 Free and a 2:07.20 in the 200 IM.
– Lexi Lehman took home a second-place finish in the 1-meter with a score of 276.83.
– The Dukes swept the 1-meter event, as Lindsey Hammar took first (277.05), followed by Maddie Yager (266.33) and Lexi Lehman (264.15). Hammar’s score was a season-best and her second NCAA Zone qualifying score, while Yager’s score was her third qualifying score of the season.
Quoting Head Coach Dane Pedersen
“I was really happy overall with the team’s performance today. We were down a couple people on the swimming, diving and coaching sides so we had a couple of goals of focusing on who was here and the opportunities we had. It had been a break since the last time we competed so we talked about the things and lessons we had learned throughout the first semester and all of our meets to make sure we grow in those areas and I think we did a really good job. Our main points were high energy, consistent support of cheering for one another and executing a good race strategy and we executed those areas. It was nice to send our seniors out their last home meet with a win and I just want to thank the four of them and their families for everything they’ve given in their careers and still have to give as we continue the season. I’m happy about where we are in the training process about six weeks out from our championship meet. We have more work to do but I think we are in an appropriate spot for what’s left to work on.
Up Next
The Dukes will be back in the pool on Friday, January 28 as they travel to the state’s capital to take on Richmond. Diving will begin at 2 p.m. followed by swimming at 4 p.m.
Courtesy: Towson Athletics
HARRISONBURG, Va. – Ending a Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) rivalry, the Towson University women’s swimming and diving program fell 188-110 Saturday afternoon at long-time rival James Madison.
The meet at Savage Natatorium was the final conference meeting between programs before the the Dukes transition from the CAA. Towson and James Madison have combined to win 12 of the last 14 CAA Championships since 2008, establishing the programs among the top of the league for nearly two decades.
Event winners for Towson (2-4) included Karlee Carminati in the 1,000 yard freestyle while Alyssa Largay topped the standings in the 3-meter dive. Tiffany Matulis won the 200-yard breaststroke with Hailey Ritter touching first in the 100-yard butterfly.
How it Happened
- In the opening event, the 400-yard medley relay, the host’s A team just out-touched Towson’s A team by just one and a half seconds. Parker Schulz, Matulis, Ritter and Katie Nunez finished second in 3 minutes and 52.96 seconds behind the first-place relay in 3:51.29.
- Carminati put in her second-best 1,000 yard free with a 10:26.66, winning the event by nearly 10 full seconds. Rookie Bridget Thomas finished fourth with a 10:44.88.
- James Madison swept the 200-yard freestyle as Emily Visscher won in 1:53.85. Meagan Clark was the first Tiger in, taking fourth at 1:55.28. The Dukes swept the next event as well, with Sydni Diehl winning the 100-yard backstroke in 58.30. Schulz was the top Towson finisher, taking fourth in 59.16.
- Matulis finished second in the 100-yard breaststroke at 1:07.41, half a second quicker than Nunez, who took third with a 1:07.95.
- Samantha Casolo wedged her way to a second-place finish in the 200-yard butterfly, touching in 2:07.04 as JMU finished first and third at 2:06.45 and 2:08.91.
- Maddie Mince and Ritter took second and third in the sprint as the former finished the 50-yard freestyle in 24.41 and the latter in 24.81 heading into the diving events.
- Largay finished atop the 3-meter diving standings with a 281.63, qualifying her for the NCAA Zone Diving Meet. Christina Coleman finished third on the higher board, scoring a 262.95. James Madison swept the 1-meter board, led by Lindsey Hammar’s 277.05.
- Out of the diving break, Schulz finished third in the 100-yard freestyle, touching in 52.59, just half a second back from first place. Nunez took fourth in 53.13.
- In the 200-yard backstroke, Suzannah Mills took third with a 2:06.88, nearly touching second behind Lauren Aylmer (JMU), in at 2:06.12.
- The Tigers closed the gap with in the 200-yard breaststroke, led by Matulis’ 2:25.60, who trailed at the midway point but edged out James Madison’s Abby Zindler. Holly Greenleaf finished third at 2:28.88 while Tink Tompkins finished fourth at 2:34.12.
- One of the tightest races of the day was event 13, the 500-yard freestyle. Trailing by a body length at the midway point, Clark nearly made up the distance in the the back half, finishing second at 5:00.56, missing first by only a tenth of a second. It was Clark’s second-fastest 500 free this season. Carminati finished fourth (5:07.78) with Thomas in fifth at 5:12.16.
- Again the Tigers put points back on the board in the 100-yard butterfly, led by Ritter’s winning time of 56.44 and a second-place effort from Mince at 57.63, her second-fastest swim of the season.
- In the final individual event of the day, Mills took third in the 200-yard individual medley, scoring three points with a 2:11.58 swim. Victoria Dichak took fourth in 2:12.30.
- The 400-yard freestyle relay was led by the Dukes early, but Towson’s A team clawed its way back to force a tight finish. Ava Enriquez, Nunez, Clark and Schulz touched second in 3:32.43, making up more than a body length along the way. Schulz closed the gap thanks to a 52.22 leg on the anchor.
Behind the Numbers
- Towson and James Madison split the regular season meetings between the programs, each side defending home waters.
- The Tigers topped the Dukes 157-143 in the second opener on October 9 at Burdick Hall Pool.
- Largay has qualified for the NCAA Zone Diving Meet on both the 1-meter and 3-meter boards. The sophomore transfer hit a 278.10 on the 1-meter board on October 15 at Navy.
Up Next for Towson
- The Tigers will be on short rest this week before making the quick trip down Charles Street.
- Both Towson’s women and men’s teams will take on the Greyhounds Wednesday at noon.
- The duals at Mangione Pool at The Fitness & Aquatics Center will be carried on ESPN+.
- Fans attending will need to adhere to Loyola’s COVID-19 Spectator Policy.
