JMU SWIMMING AND DIVING SPLITS WITH DELAWARE AND MASON

Saturday, October 16

Newark, Del.

1:00 p.m.

James Madison University

213

George Mason

10/17/2010 2:10:00 AM | Swimming & Diving

NEWARK, Del., Oct. 16, 2010 - The James Madison swimming and diving team opened Colonial Athletic Association play Saturday at the University of Delaware's Rawstrom Pool with a 1-1 split against Delaware and George Mason.

JMU cruised past Mason 213-86, but fell to the host Delaware by a score of 175-125 in the double-dual meet. The Dukes are now 1-2 in dual meets this season, after a season-opening loss at Navy (Oct. 15).

"Our swimmers did a great job racing hard on Friday, but they needed to make adjustments, learn from their mistakes and race hard today," head coach Samantha Smith said. "For the most part, I thought we achieved those goals and was happy with our energy and support."

Junior Eva Hannesdottir (Seltjarnarnes, Iceland/Kvennaskolinn) won the 100 yard freestyle after she hit the wall in 53.31 seconds. Hannesdottir edged out Delaware's Donna Healy by .04 seconds, while senior Carly Gibson took third with a time of 53.66 seconds.

Freshman Morgan Johnson (Woodstock, Ga./Woodstock) won her first-career collegiate race after she finished the 500 free in 5:05.83, nearly two seconds ahead of Delaware's Shea Solt, who was runner-up.

JMU swept the diving events against the Blue Hens and Patriots.

Senior Jessie Everett (Arlington, Va./Yorktown) won the three-meter dive with a score of 282 points. Junior Nicole Jotso finished second with 271.2 points, sophomore Kimberly Helfrich (Fort Belvoir, Va./West Springfield) was third with 254.3 points and junior Chelsea Savage (Bedford, Texas/L.D. Bell) rounded out the Dukes in fourth with 230.35 points.

In the one-meter dive, Savage took the event with 236.35 points, edging out teammate Jotso by .65 points (235.7). Helfrich was fourth with 224 points and Everett finished fifth with 213.5 points.

"All weekend, our divers stepped up and represented JMU in an impressive manner," Smith said. "I know Becky [Benson] was pleased with their effort and attitude. We had a variety of wins across the board which shows the great job Becky is doing with our divers. They are an integral part of our team."

JMU capped off the double-dual with a victory in the 400 free relay. The team of Hannesdottir, junior Lauren Kranz (Clifton, Va./James Robinson), junior Catalina Mendieta (Parkland, Fla./Marjory Stoneman Douglas) and Gibson won by nearly 2.5 seconds against Delaware's 'A' team with a time of 3:33.16.

"We came into this weekend focused on racing strategy and competing tired," Smith said. "Our focus is always peaking at the end of the season, but the hard work must be put in now learning to race and dive to the top of our potential."

The Dukes return to the pool next Friday and Saturday when they host Duquesne and Richmond in a two-day double-dual at Savage Natatorium in Harrisonburg.