James Madison, Marshall, Campbell vs. Radford

RADFORD, Virginia, October 1. JAMES Madison won 12 of 16 events, including two individual event wins each by junior Anna Susko (Roxbury, N.J./Roxbury) and sophomore Kelsey Holmgaard (Roanoke, Va./George Mason), to sweep a four-team meet over Radford, Marshall and Campbell at the Dedmon Center Natatorium in Radford, Va., on Saturday.

JMU defeated Marshall 211-89, Campbell 236-62 and Radford 253-47 to open the season 3-0 in dual meets. Marshall went 2-1 on the day with wins over Radford and Campbell while Campbell was 1-2 and Radford 0-3.

"Our biggest lesson was learning how to compete as a team and I think we are off to a good start," head swimming and diving coach Samantha Smith said. "Everyone contributed to the team's success today and we did a great job working as one unit."

Susko finished first in the 100-yard backstroke as well as the 200-yard backstroke. She edged Radford's Colleen Miller to win the 100 back in a time of 1:01.67 while adding a first-place finish in the 200 in 2:10.33. Holmgaard made her debut for the Dukes after transferring from George Mason, winning the 200 and 500 freestyles by touching the wall in 1:53.70 and 5:06.67, respectively. She also swam the anchor leg in the 200 freestyle relay, helping her team win in a time of 1:39.99.

The JMU divers dominated the two diving events, claiming the top six positions on the three-meter board and six of the top seven positions on the one-meter board. Junior Kimberly Helfrich (Fort Belvoir, Va./West Springfield) scored a 294.35 to win the one-meter and a 273.05 to take second in the three-meter. Senior Nicole Jotso (Suffern, N.Y./Suffern) finished first in the three-meter (286.85) and second in the one-meter (273.45). Freshman Alex Savage (Carrolton, Texas/L.D. Bell) made her Dukes' debut, claiming third in each event.

Other individual event winners for JMU include freshman Aimee Hooper (Clifton Park, N.Y./Shenendehowa) in the 1,000-yard freestyle, sophomore Shannon Dubay (South Windsor, Conn./South Windsor) in the 50 free, freshman Susanne Gingher (Boalsburg, Pa./State College Area) in the 100 free and senior Melissa Helock (Scotch Plains, N.J./Scotch Plains Fanwood) in the 200 individual medley.

Madison teams finished first and second in both the 200-yard medley and the 200 freestyle relay events. Senior Lauren Broussard (La Place, La./Mount Caramel Academy) and junior Caroline Burns (Severna Park, Md./Severn School) combined with Gingher and fellow freshman Sin Hye Won (Springfield, Va./West Springfield) to win the medley relay in a time of 1:47.27 while Burns, Holmgaard and sophomores Morgan Johnson (Woodstock, Ga./Woodstock) and Mary Gargula (Richmond, Va./James River) claimed the 200 free in a time of 1:39.99.

"We came off a great week of training and used the momentum toward our first meet of the season," Smith said. "The women took advantage of the opportunity to compete and get some experience underneath them, which is important this early in the year. We will use this upcoming week of training to make some adjustments technically and really work on getting better every day."

The Dukes return to the pool on Oct. 14 as they host Navy in a dual meet at Savage Natatorium schedule to start at 4 p.m.

The above article is a press release submitted to Swimming World Magazine. It has been posted in its entirety without editing. Swimming World offers all outlets the chance to reach our audience by contacting us at Newsmaster@swimmingworldmagazine.com. However, Swimming World reserves the right to choose what material is posted.

Name*

Email*

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use