By Kelsey Lynch, Swimming World College Intern
KINGSTON – It’s that time of year again. Winter National Championships time, that is. Held this year in Greensboro, N.C., the USA Swimming Nationals is an opportunity for college-level swimmers to compete with Olympians. In some cases this means racing against their lifelong idols.
Duquesne, George Mason, La Salle, Rhode Island, Saint Bonaventure, and Saint Louis are sending swimmers to Greensboro while Davidson, Fordham and Rhode Island will compete in dual meets this weekend.
A Glance Back
With the exception of Davidson, mid-season taper meets are over, and some great swims were placed on record. School records were broken, and there were personal best times across the conference to hopefully foreshadow some exceptional racing in February, which is approaching fast.
The A-10 announced their weekly awards based off the invitational meet performances on Nov. 17-23. The Men’s Co-Performers of the Week were awarded to La Salle’s Fabian Bergman and Massachusetts’ Alessandro Bomprezzi. The Women’s Co-Performers of the Week were Massachusetts’ Molly Smyth and Richmond’s Irina Chiulli (diver). The Men’s Co-Rookies of the Week were La Salle’s Jakub Bartosiewicz and Massachusetts’ Oliver Wyeth, and finally the Women’s Rookie of the Week was honored to Duquesne’s Kayla Owens.
At the Bucknell Invitational last weekend, Bergman won the 100-yard backstroke (48.71) and the 200-yard backstroke (1:46.50, a new school record). He also earned second place in the 200-yard individual medley (1:50.60).
At the Terrier Invitational, Bomprezzi won the 200-yard freestyle (1:40.21) in a close race against BU’s Andres Vazquez, who touched at just over.1 second after Bomprezzi. Bomprezzi also won the 500-yard freestyle (4:28.78) and the 1650-yard freestyle (15:27.33), which he won by about 20 seconds. Smyth won the 1650-yard freestyle (16:48.17), shaving over 10 seconds off her time earned A-10s last February. Smyth also won the 500-yard freestyle (5:52.68), and she finished third in the 200-yard freestyle (1:52.68) in finals.
La Salle’s freshman Bartosiewicz won both the 100-yard butterfly (49.08) and 200-yard butterfly (1:48.96) at the Bucknell Invitational.
Massachusetts’ Wyeth won the 100-yard backstroke (49.11) in a close race for the top three places at the Terrier Invitational, and placed second in the 200-yard backstroke (1:48.69). He also placed second behind teammate Bomprezzi in the 500-yard freestyle (4:31.32) with another Massachusetts swimmer, Kyle Vieira, taking third place (4:34.73).
Duquesne’s freshman Owens proved to be a versatile swimmer at the CSU Magnus Invitational. She won the 100-yard breaststroke (1:02.94), 200-yard breaststroke (2:15.71), 200-yard individual medley (2:03.15), and placed third in the 100-yard butterfly (55.99).
Bergman, Bartosiewicz and Owens will all compete this weekend in Greensboro. Massachusetts is not traveling to Nationals; they’ll have the weekend off from racing.
A Glimpse Forward
Swimmers are fired up after earning season-best times this past weekend, and the four-day trials/finals Nationals are just ahead. Teams are certainly excited to compete, but also to witness first-hand some of the greatest swimmers in the nation display their talent in the pool. Atlantic 10 Conference swimming teams are represented well this weekend, with conference swimmers entered in almost every event at nationals.
Some teams that are not attending Nationals will race in dual meets this weekend, while others have the weekend off from racing. See the “Upcoming Schedule” at the bottom of this article for meet dates. Here’s a look at how some A-10 swimmers are seeded for this weekend’s meet in North Carolina and at other meets.
DAVIDSON
It’s been a little under one month since the Wildcats have competed, and they’re set to race in the Total Performance Invitational this weekend in Gambier, Ohio. Elise Lankiewicz has been a consistent winner this season for Davidson’s women, winning the majority of her events and aiding Davidson as a top A-10 conference competitor. Sprint freestyler and butterflyer Cameron Bard has been the standout for Davidson’s men this season. Davidson looks to dominate this weekend at Kenyon; the other teams participating are Grove City, Johns Hopkins and Carnegie Mellon. Davidson is going into this meet with the fastest times across the board for both the men and the women.
DUQUESNE
The Dukes are bringing a handful of swimmers to U.S. Nationals this weekend. Kayla Owens is seeded 76th in the 200-yard individual medley (2:03.15), and her teammate Line Lovberg just two places below at 78th (2:03.24). Owens is placed 60th in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:03.23), with her teammate Lilly Nelson at 75th (1:03.92). In the 200-yard breaststroke, Owens is seeded 34th (2:15.71). The Dukes are also bringing backstroker Morgan Fink and freestyler Sam Ray.
FORDHAM
The Rams will host Manhattan College this weekend. This meet should be a sweep for Fordham as they are seeded to dominate this meet by a long-shot It will serve as a good meet for the Rams to gain even more confidence going forward.
GEORGE MASON
The team is traveling with a solid group of National qualifiers for their men. The Patriots are seeded strong in the 100-yard butterfly with Travis Lauri seeded 40th (48.40), Danny Camozzo seeded 58th (48.88), and Matthew Lynch in 70th (49.43). Colin Schwartz is placed 86th (49.55) as well in the 100 fly. Lauri is also seeded at 44th in the 50-yard freestyle (20.08).
GEORGE WASHINGTON
The Colonials have the weekend off from racing, their next meet being the Rhode Island Invitational on January 9 in Kingston.
LA SALLE
The Explorers have a big group of qualifiers headed to nationals this weekend, with Mattias Glenesk as their best seed at 33rd in the 1650-yard freestyle (15:20.48). La Salle is stacked for their men’s breaststroke qualifiers with three men in each event. Bergman, A-10 Co-Performer of the Week, is seeded 72nd (1:50.60) in the 200 individual medley, and teammate Strahinja Stankovic close behind at 79th (1:50.91). Sophomore Kelsey Jenkinson is seeded 35th in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:15.74) and 39th in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:02.58), which is now ranked first for the A-10 conference.
MASSACHUSETTS
The Minutemen do not have a meet this weekend. They’ll join George Washington in Rhode Island next on January 9.
RHODE ISLAND
The Rams are sending senior captain Chaya Zabludoff to Nationals. Zabludoff is the A-10 champion in the 500-yard freestyle for the past two years, and is seeded 39th (4:48.37) this weekend. She is also seeded 38th in the 200-yard freestyle (1:48.04) and 71st in the 100-yard freestyle (50.78).
At Bryant on December 6, the Rams will look to take home a win even with their top scorer away in Greensboro.
RICHMOND
The Spiders will not travel to Greensboro due to pending exams, according to Head Coach Matt Barany. However this weekend they will hold a closed “meet” where they can wear speed suits and swim fast.
ST. BONAVENTURE
St. Bonaventure has a strong men’s team, and will be bringing a large group to Nationals this weekend. They have multiple relay teams in the men’s relays; their 4×200-yard freestyle relay seeded sixth (6:29.80), and their 4×100-yard freestyle seeded at 8th (2:55.48). The Bonnies are placed strong in the 100-yard backstroke with Michael Pilyugin seeded 29th (48.54), Vatslav Lets seeded 34th (48.68), and Viacheslav Shchukin at 46th (49.28). Shchukin is seeded 18th in the 100-yard freestyle (43.42), and Pilyugin is placed 20th in the 200-yard backstroke (1:45.14).
ST. LOUIS
The Billikens are traveling with an impressive group of National qualifiers; both the men and women are represented in a wide variety of events. Freshman Austin Nguyenphu is seeded at 41st for the 400-yard individual medley (3:55.55) currently ranked one of the best times the A-10. Morgan Peterson is impressively ranked 15th in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:13.62). She is also seeded at 43rd in the 200-yard individual medley (2:01.80) and 46th in the 100-yard butterfly 54.73.
Upcoming Schedule
Dec 3-6
U.S. Winter Nationals
Dec. 3
Fordham at Manhattan
Dec. 4-6
Davidson hosts Total Performance Invitational
Dec. 6
Rhode Island at Bryant
Richmond at home for “closed meet”
Kelsey Lynch is a senior Journalism major and Writing minor at the University of Rhode Island, swimming distance freestyle on URI’s Division I team throughout her collegiate career. Before Rhode Island, Kelsey trained at Cape Cod Swim Club in Buzzards Bay, Mass. for 10 years.