NavySports.com - Official Athletic Site for Navy Athletics

Navy Swimming Teams to Play Host to Penn Saturday Afternoon

Last dual meet of the year for the Navy women

	Kristin Lowd

Jan. 25, 2008

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- With only four weeks remaining until the Patriot League Championship, the Navy swimming and diving programs will continue preparation for defense of their respective league crowns by playing host to Penn Saturday afternoon in Lejeune Hall. The women's meet between the teams will begin at 12 Noon, with the men's meet slated to follow at 2:30 p.m.

Additionally, the Navy women's team will hold its senior recognition festivities starting at 11:45 a.m. on the Lejeune Hall pool deck.

Live results from both meets will be available in the Gametracker/Broadcast box located on the home page of www.navysports.com(.)

The Navy women's program last took to the pool for a meet two weeks ago when the Mids split two meets against Cornell (W, 175-125), and Yale (L, 174-126). The win over the Big Red was Navy's 12th of the year, while the loss to the Bulldogs was the first for the Mids this season.

Thuy-Mi Dinh (So., Anaheim, Calif.) and Katie Griffin (Sr., Ellicott City, Md.) led the Navy efforts on the day. Dinh won the 100 backstroke, the 50 free and the 100 free, while Griffin won both the one and three-meter diving events.

When the teams met last year in Philadelphia, Penn held a 142-141 lead heading into the final event of the meet before placing first and third in the 400 free relay to secure a 155-145 victory. The win was the seventh in a row for the Quakers over the Mids and gave them an 8-6 lead in the series between the teams.

Dinh also swept the two sprint freestyle events and Griffin won both boards during last year's meet against Penn.

The Mids enter Saturday's meet, their final dual meet of the season, with a 12-1 record, while the Quakers head into this weekend having compiled a 7-5 record on the season.

"This will be a tough meet for our team," said Navy women's swimming head coach John Morrison. "Penn is always tough at the end of the season and we expect them to come out ready to win. I anticipate the emotion and excitement of it being our last home dual meet of the year will help our team be more aggressive."

Like the women's team, the Navy men's squad also has not competed against an opponent since facing Cornell and Yale Jan. 12 in Lejeune Hall. The Mids defeated both the Big Red (174-126) and the Bulldogs (159-141) two weeks ago, marking the first time Navy has won the annual meet between the three programs in a decade.

Navy won the meet despite winning only four of the 16 events contested on the day. Erik Hunter (Fr., Placerville, Calif.) won the 800 free, Ari Molina (Jr., Arlington, Va.) won the 100 breaststroke, and Adam Meyer (So., Bethesda, Md.) won the 200 fly and 200 individual medley races.

The two wins boosted Navy's overall record to 13-1 on the season and to 4-1 against Eastern Intercollegiate Swimming League opponents. A win by the Mids either over Penn or in one of its two remaining league meets (Columbia, Feb. 8; at Princeton, Feb. 9) would assure Navy of its first winning season in the EISL since the 1999-2000 team posted a 6-3 record.

Helped by 1-2-3 finishes in three-straight events midway through the meet, Navy posted a 176-124 victory over Penn last season in Philadelphia. The Mids have now won back-to-back meets against the Quakers and hold a 68-13 lead in the all-time series between the teams that dates back to the 1921-22 season. Prior to its successes in 2006 and `07, however, Navy had dropped three of the previous four meets to Penn.

Billy Vey (Jr., Huntersville, N.C.) is the lone returning Mid to have won a pair of events last year against the Quakers. He won both backstroke events a year ago, while fellow returning athletes Kevin Kysiak (Sr., Western Springs, Ill.) won the 100 breaststroke, Andrew Utama (So., Walnut Creek, Calif.) won the 200 breaststroke and Jon Galinski (Jr., Phoenix, Md.) won the three-meter diving event.

Penn enters the meet with a 7-4 record on the season and a 3-3 mark against EISL opponents.

"We have had some closely contested meets with Penn through the years," said Navy men's swimming head coach Bill Roberts. "Each team typically wins their share of events, with every point making a difference in the outcome."

Lejeune Hall will be the site for the Feb. 21-23 Patriot League Men's and Women's Swimming and Diving Championship, while the Navy men's team will also take part in the EISL Championship slated to be held March 6-8 in Boston.