Nov. 15, 2003

The Navy men's swimming and diving team ran its winning streak to seven meets with a pair of victories over American and Bucknell, Friday night in Lejeune Hall. The Mids (7-1) defeated American (1-3), 161-133, and Bucknell (0-2), 222-78.

"It was our goal this week to come away with two wins tonight, but that was an ambitious goal because of the quality of the teams we were facing," said Navy head swimming coach Bill Roberts. "Needless to say, I am very pleased we were able to pull this off tonight."

Navy did not win an overall event in the double-dual meet until the third event, the 200-meter freestyle, when team captain Marshall Boyd (Pittsburgh, Pa.) posted a 1:54.73 to win by 1.7 seconds over American and over four seconds in front of a Bucknell swimmer. For Boyd is was his fifth victory in six 200 free competitions this fall.

Terrence Fenningham (Philadelphia, Pa.) later led a 1-2-3 Navy finish in the 50-meter freestyle, posting a 23.40 to place ahead of teammates Noah White (El Cajon, Calif.) and Mike Linn (Newhall, Calif.). White and Fenninaham would soon trade positions in the 100-meter free, with White posting a 51.92 to win the event just ahead of Fenningham's second-place time of 52.26. Fenningham's strong meet would continue as he later won the 100-meter butterfly in a time of 57.35.

Kevin Mukri (Fr., Silver Spring, Md.) would also record a victory tonight, winning the 200-meter backstroke in a time of 2:06.67. It was his fourth 200 back win of the season.

Navy closed the meet by winning the 200 freestyle relay by over two seconds. The team of Matt James (Litiz, Pa.), Linn, Tim Leonardi (Prosperity, Pa.) and White won the event in a time of 1:33.37, over two seconds in front of Bucknell and over four seconds in front of American.

"We had to make up some points from the first few events of the night, but the team really focused in on what needed to be done and went out and did it. I am sure all of the guys will mention the crowd as being a big factor tonight. It was a tremendous atmosphere and really provided a lot of energy to the team."

Navy will compete Nov. 22 in another double-dual meet against Brown and Dartmouth in Hanover, N.H., then will close the fall season Dec. 4 against Army in Lejeune Hall.