WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Catholic University men's swimming & diving team took first place in every one of its events in a decisive victory over Randolph-Macon on Saturday at the DuFour Center Pool. The Cardinals defeated the Yellow Jackets 202-60 on their final home meet of the season.
Catholic, now 6-1 in dual meets this year, set the tone in the opening relay event, the 200-medley relay. Gregory McCarthy (25.52), George Isaacs (27.64), Kevin Jay (23.97), and Matthew Mahon (21.72) combined for a 1:38.85 time that earned the top spot. Jeffrey Schriefer-Flores, Daniel Taylor, Luke Nicholson, and Sam Hicks followed close behind with a 1:41.51 second place time that gave the Cardinals a fifteen point event to begin the afternoon.
James Verby continued his dominance in the 40-lap 1000-freestyle event with the top spot at 10:20.93. He wasn't alone at the top, though, as Nicholson (10:30.70) and Lenny Brown (10:33.50) followed for an event sweep.
Schriefer-Flores had himself an afternoon with three event wins. The freshman from Lexington, KY touched first in the 100-backstroke (55.20), 200-backstroke (2:00.63), and contributed with a 21.95 split in the winning 200-freestyle relay foursome.
Taylor added to the list of impressive freshman performances with two first-place finishes of his own. He outswam the competition in the 100-backstroke by almost five seconds with a 1:01.81 time, and followed soon after with a 49.66 winning time in the 100-freestyle.
The Cardinals closed the meet the way they finished: a top spot in the relay. Goerge (22.16), Jay (22.01), Schriefer-Flores (21.95), and Mahon (22.14) teamed up for a 1:28.26 time that took first to end the afternoon.
Before the meet, the men's team honored its senior swimmers - Hicks, Kevin Budd, and David Lanetti. Hicks took first in the 200-freestyle with a 1:48.24 time. Budd earned points with fifth-place finishes in the 200-freestyle (1:59.95) and 200-backstroke (2:16.54). Lanetti impressed with two third-place finishes in the 200-IM (2:11.50) and 200-butterfly (2:05.33).
On the boards, Will Chester scored highest in both the 1-meter and 3-meter diving events. Chester scored a 135.30 in the 1-meter and a 125.50 in the 3-meter. Patrick Fischer followed with 115.85 (1-meter) and 111.45 (3-meter) scores. Brett Russell earned an 84.50 score in the 1-meter diving event.
Up next for Catholic is a local road meet against Division I opponent Howard University. The Cardinals compete at Howard for a 1 p.m. meet on Saturday, January 26.
