Kenyon Invite: Day One

GAMBIER, Ohio, December 5. AN exciting finish is taking shape on the men's side of the 2009 Nike Invitational, hosted by Kenyon College. After the second day of action Friday, the Lords swimming and diving team jumped to the front of the pack, but only lead second-place University of Pennsylvania by a slim, 842-827.5 margin.

The 100-yard backstroke proved a key event in Kenyon's ability to overtake the Quakers with only one day of competition remaining. Junior Michael Mpitsos (Newport, OR/Newport) led the Lords sweep of the top three spots with a 49.88 finish that also cleared the NCAA's standard for automatic entry to the national championship meet. Freshman Jimmy Chapman (Sandusky, OH/Perkins) also notched an 'A' cut with his second-place showing of 50.50. Senior Jacob Shanley (Old Towne, ME/Old Towne) was just off of Chapman's pace with a time of 50.83, which took third. Overall, Kenyon claimed six of the top ten spots in the 100 back and piled up a whopping 110 points in the process.

The Lords found similar success later in the night in the 50-yard freestyle in which six Kenyon swimmers claimed a spot in the top eight. Senior Blair Withington (Hastings, New Zealand/Hastings Boys) led the way by stopping the clock at 20.79, but sophomores Zach Turk (Strongsville, OH/St. Edward) and David Somers (North Potomac, MD/Quince Orchard) were within .03 seconds of that time. For the event, the Lords piled another 123 points onto their team score.

Kenyon's cause was further bolstered by event wins from sophomore Joseph Pysnik (Murraysville, PA/Franklin Regional) in the200-yard butterfly (1:50.82), freshman Ian Stewart-Bates (Moreland Hills, OH/University School) in the 200-yard freestyle (1:39.16), and the 200-yard freestyle (1:21.03) and the 400-yard medley (3:22.03) relays.

The Lords will try to capture their third-straight Nike Invitational crown on the third and final day of action Saturday. Preliminary heats begin at 9 a.m. with the evening finals set for 6 p.m.

Junior Lauren Brady (Tyngsboro, MA/Phillips Exeter) rang up an NCAA 'A' cut time in the 200-yard butterfly and helped the Kenyon College women's swimming and diving team stay within striking distance of the University of Pennsylvania Friday at the Nike Invitational. The Ladies, who trailed the Quakers 196-89 after Thursday's two distance events, kept a manageable gap at 793-684 heading into the final day of competition Saturday.

Brady didn't take long to give the Ladies a big boost. The 200 fly was the second event of the night and she blazed through the Kenyon Aquatic Center pool in 2:03.91 to notch the win and clear the mark for automatic qualification into the national championship meet. Brady wasn't the only Lady to post a strong showing in the event, though, as freshman Hannah Saiz (Plattsburgh, NY/Plattsburg) and sophomore Kellen Caldwell (Gambier, Ohio/Mount Vernon) also posted top-five finishes.

Following the quick start, Kenyon then had to wait until near the end of the night to land a swimmer in the top spot. Freshman Kathryn Haller (Mentor, OH/Mentor) did the honors in the 100-yard backstroke with a 58.43 finish that also clipped the national provisional qualifying mark.

Brady and Haller then teamed up to give the Ladies their final victory of the night as half of the 400-yard medley relay squad. The quartet hit the wall at 3:53.50 to add 25 points to Kenyon's team tally.

The Ladies are the only team in position to challenge Penn for the Nike Invitational title on Saturday. Davidson College sits third with 410 points, Carnegie Mellon University is fourth with 236, and Johns Hopkins University rounds out the standings with 63. After the morning preliminaries at 9 a.m., Kenyon will attempt to make up ground on the Quakers in the 6 p.m. finals.

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.

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