Jan. 15, 2008

The Navy men continued their winning ways this season by sweeping Ivy League opponents Cornell and Yale. Thanks to their efforts, Navy swimmer Adam Meyer and diver Adam Niekras were both honored with weekly awards.

On the women's side, Navy took home both awards as well, with seniors Thuy-Mi Dinh and Katie Griffin garnering recognition.

Patriot League Swimming and Diving Release - 1.15.08

Male Swimmer of the Week
Adam Meyer, Navy So., Bethesda, Md.
Meyer wins his fifth male swimmer of the week award following Navy's sweep against Cornell and Yale. He finished first against both teams in the 200 Fly and 200 IM events, and recorded a first and second-place finish in the 100 Fly. He has yet to be defeated in either the 200 Fly or 200 IM events so far this season.

Female Swimmer of the Week
Thuy-Mi Dinh, Navy So., Anaheim, Calif.
Dinh was undefeated in all of her individual races in a three-team meet with Cornell and Yale. She earned victories in the 100 Back, 50 Free and 100 Free events, coming extremely close to NCAA `B' marks in the two freestyle events.

Male Diver of the Week
Adam Niekras, Navy Sr., Liverpool, N.Y.
Niekras earns his second diver of the week award this season after winning the one meter dive against Cornell. He also placed second in the one meter against Yale, second on the three meter versus Cornell and third versus Yale. Niekras recorded marks of 282.05 in the one meter and 321.55 in the three meter.

Female Diver of the Week
Katie Griffin, Navy Sr., Ellicott City, Md.
Griffin earns her sixth diver of the week award this season after yet another sweep against Cornell and Yale. The senior posted a mark of 241.95 in the one meter event, and 308.40 to win the three meter. She has yet to be defeated this year, combining for a record of 26-0.

Honorable Mention

Abigail Atkinson, Bucknell
So., Newtown, Conn.
Atkinson finished first in the 200 Back at the dual meet with Colgate, and also turned in third-place performances in the 100 Back and 200 IM events.

Patriot League Notebook

CollegeSwimming.com Mid-Major Poll
Several Patriot League swimming and diving teams have been recognized on the latest installment of the CollegeSwimming.com Mid-Major Poll. The Navy men's swimming and diving team is currently ranked No. 6 in the poll. while the Army men and Bucknell men were ranked Nos. 14 and 24, respectively. The Navy women found themselves ranked No. 2 in the poll, while the Bucknell women are currently No. 16. The poll has four release dates throughout the course of the season: November 14 (pre-Invite), December 20 (post-invite), February 6 (pre-Conference) and March 6 (post-Conference).

Quotable
"Yale swam extremely well today. I was a little disappointed in some of our times. We need to step up better. We did have a number of good swims and had a lot of close races, but we need to race better and stronger throughout the meet." Navy Women's Head Coach John Morrison

"We dug a hole for ourselves in the first relay, but to the credit of our guys they came back strong starting with the 800 free and carried that through to the end of the meet. The key to the win was the great swims we had in the first heat of every race. Veltmann's 200 IM swim was a perfect example of that effort." Navy Men's Head Coach Bill Roberts

Want to Know More?
The 2008 NCAA Qualifying marks can be found on the sidebar of the Patriot League Swimming and Diving website.

A Few Lanes Away
The 2008 Patriot League Swimming and Diving Championship meet will take place Thurs. - Sat., Feb. 21-23 at Lejeune Hall on the campus of Navy. The meet will begin at 10 a.m. on each of the three days of competition.

Team Notebooks

American
The Eagles will begin the second-half of their season on Friday when they host cross-town rival Georgetown.

Army
The Black Knights will remain on land until Jan. 19 when they host Patriot League foe Bucknell for a dual meet.

Bucknell
The Bison returned from a month-and-a-half layoff on Saturday when they traveled to Colgate for a dual meet. The teams split the meet, with the men emerging victorious and the women suffering a defeat. Top performances for the men were turned in by senior John Peterman, who won two individual events, and junior diver Jeffrey Manning, who swept the diving events. For the women, sophomore Abigail Atkinson placed first in the 200 Back, and sophomore Allison FitzPatrick finished first in the three-meter dive.

Colgate
The Raiders split a home dual meet against Bucknell this past weekend, marking their first competition in the New Year. The men were led by senior Zach Whitman, who swept the Fly events. On the women's side of the meet, freshman Caren Guyett won the 1000 Free and the 200 Fly events. Colgate returns to action on Saturday against Cornell.

Holy Cross
The Holy Cross women's team returned to the pool last weekend, playing host to CCSU and Vermont. The Crusaders were swept by the visiting teams. Molly O'Brien, Lauren Tatro and Lauren Gousman each earned a first-place finish. The men will be back in action on Tuesday against Boston University.

Lafayette
The Leopards will return to the pool on Wednesday when they host Binghamton and Stony Brook.

Lehigh
The Mountain Hawks suffered a dual-meet sweep at the hands of Marist last week, falling 128-115 and 128-104. Dan Johnson led the men with two victories in the 100 and 200 Free events, while Melanie Rolish paced the women with multiple victories in the 400 IM and 200 Breast events.

Navy
The Midshipmen won three out of four meets this past weekend, with the men earning a sweep over Ivy League foes Cornell and Yale. As has been the case for most of the season, the men were led by sophomore Adam Meyer, who recorded five wins and one second-place finish in his three individual events. His finish in the 200 Butterfly just missed the NCAA `B' Qualifying standard. Teammate Adam Niekras recorded one first place finish in the one-meter event. For the women, Thuy-Min Dinh turned in an outstanding performance with six wins in her three individual events. Her time in the 50 Free was 0.05 seconds away from an NCAA `B' Qualifying mark. Junior diver Katie Griffin continued to dominate on the boards, winning both events.