Nov. 8, 2009
Complete Results
BALTIMORE, MD - The Johns Hopkins women's swim team traveled up Charles Street to Loyola College for the annual Thomas Murphy Invitational. JHU squared off against Division I opponents Loyola, St. Francis (PA) and Richmond. The Blue Jays dropped all three dual meets. Numerous Blue Jays posted season-best times over the course of the weekend.
Hopkins opened up action on Friday with a fifth place finish in the 400 Medley Relay in a time of 4:12.87. Swimming the relay were freshman Kristen Ferriero (Long Valley, NJ/Pope John XXIII), senior Caitlin Dennis (Moorsetown, NJ/Merion Mercy Academy), senior Lisa Qu (Atlanta, GA/Westminster) and junior Michele Palopoli (Gwynedd Valley, PA/Germantown Academy). Freshman Cathy Howard (Cherry Hill, NJ/Cherry Hill) was the Blue Jays top finisher in the 500 Free, finishing in a season-best 5:15.67 for fourth place.
Sophomore Annie Tsay (Sacramento, CA/Mira Loma) then took second in the 200 IM with a time of 2:13.66, a season-best. Freshman Daniella Villegas (Bellflower, CA/Cerritos) took 11th in the 50 Free, finishing in 25.89. Hopkins closed out Friday's competition with a fourth place finish in the 800 Free Relay. Sophomore Elizabeth Rogers (North Palm Beach, FL/Suncoast), sophomore Khristine Ghemigian (Oak Park, CA/Oak Park), freshman Eleanor Gardner (Smiths, Bermuda/Bermuda) and Ferriero swam the relay in 8:03.39.
Saturday opened with a fourth place finish in the 200 Free Relay for the Blue Jays. Tsay, Gardner, Ghemigian and Rogers swam the relay in 1:41.41 - a season-best time. Sophomore Margaret Spach (Laguna Niguel, CA/Aliso Niguel) followed that with a fifth place finish in the 400 IM in 4:50.54. Rogers then took sixth in the 100 Fly (1:00.30) while Ferriero took sixth in the 200 Free (1:59.65 - a season-best).
Villegas, sophomore Lindsey Kent (West Bend, WI/Homestead), senior Robin Schaffer (Dublin, OH/Columbus School for Girls) and Palopoli swept the nine through 12 spots in the 100 Back - all with season-best times. Villegas led the way with a time of 1:03.34, followed by Kent (1:04.07), Schaffer (1:04.09) and Palopoli (1:04.63). Tsay then picked up her first podium finish of the day, taking second in the 100 Breast in 1:07.62.
Howard followed with a fourth place finish in the 1650 Free in a time of 18:13.59. Hopkins then took fifth in the 200 Medley Relay with a time of 1:54.06. Villegas, Tsay, Qu and Rogers swam the relay. Ferriero then took sixth in the 200 Back, finishing in a season-best time of 2:16.36. In the 100 Free, Rogers was the top Blue Jay with a time of 55.61, good for ninth.
Tsay then picked up a win in the 200 Breast, finishing in 2:27.40, winning by 1.72 seconds over Richmond's Mary Anne Lerro. Qu then took fifth in the 200 Fly in a time of 2:15.47. Hopkins wrapped up the weekend with a sixth place finish in the 400 Free Relay. Tsay, Ghemigian, Palopoli and Villegas combined for a time of 3:47.62 in the relay.
Hopkins is idle for the next month, returning to action at the Nike Cup, hosted by Kenyon College December 4-5.
