The Basics
• Scores:
Johns Hopkins-168, UMBC-120
Delaware-158, Johns Hopkins-136
• Location: Catonsville, MD • UMBC Aquatic Complex
• The Short Story: The Johns Hopkins men's swim team opened the season with a win over host UMBC but dropped a close decision to Delaware on Saturday afternoon. The Blue Jays won eight of the 14 swimming events with the Retrievers and Blue Hens opting to take diving points in the two diving events.
 
Quoting Coach Armstrong
• "It's been a long time since we had the opportunity to just race great competition! Thank you to UMBC for hosting and for Delaware for the great racing. It was a very close meet across the board and I'm so proud of this team for showing up to give their best amidst a lot of adversity. A special recognition needs to go to our seniors, who not only led in the pool with several wins, but also show the team what commitment and hard work looks like every day! It was a joy to finally see some of our first years step up and race! One thing is clear now is that this is a tenacious group."
 
Top Finishers
• Hopkins kicked off the meet with a win in the 200 Medley Relay. The team of senior Dylan Wachenfeld, junior Max Chen, senior Jeff Vitek and graduate student Nat Davenport swam a 1:33.47 for the win. The Blue Jays had a lead of just one-hundred of a second when Davenport got in the water and they won by more than three-tenths of a second.
• Graduate student CJ Arena then placed sixth in the 1000 Free with a 10:04.85.
• Senior Noah Corbitt and freshman Eric Ji followed with a one-two finish in the 200 Free. Corbitt touched in 1:39.97 to earn the win, with Ji finishing in 1:42.89. Senior Collin Hughes followed in fifth place with a time of 1:43.82.
• Wachenfeld took third place in the 100 Back with a 52.49, while sophomore Reef Ide placed fifth in 52.79.
• Chen and junior Kyle Wu turned the same trick in the 100 Breast as Corbitt and Ji. Chen clocked in at 55.17 to grab the win, while Wu finished in 56.94. Freshman Mitchell List took fourth place with a 58.29.
• Vitek then grabbed a win in the 200 Fly as he beat the field with a 1:51.42. Freshman Jonik Surprenant placed fifth with a time of 1:55.27.
• Davenport followed with a win in the 50 Free, clocking in at 21.18 to win by three-tenths of a second.
• Corbitt earned his second win of the afternoon, swimming a 46.75 to win the 100 Free. Hughes finished in fifth as he swam a 47.87.
• Wachenfeld took second place in the 200 Back with a 1:52.67.
• Wu then led a trio of Blue Jays that took first, third and fourth in the 200 Breast. He grabbed the win with a 2:06.11. Junior Brandon Stride placed third with a 2:08.98 with List taking fourth in 2:09.84.
• Senior Mitchell Simmons led Hopkins with a sixth-place finish in the 500 Free with a time of 4:49.29.
• Vitek earned his second win of the day with a 49.56 in the 100 Fly. Ide followed in third place with a time of 51.49.
• Ji picked up his first collegiate win as he touched in 1:55.52 to win the 200 IM by 1.16 seconds. Freshman Nathan Jin finished in fifth place with a 1:57.99.
• The Blue Jays closed out the meet with second and fourth-place finishes in the 400 Free Relay. Corbitt, Hughes, Davenport and Chen combined for a 3:06.36 for second place. The team of Wu, sophomore Jay Heymann, junior Steven Rua and Simmons placed fourth in 3:08.91.
 
Up Next
• Hopkins returns to action on Friday, October 15 with a double-dual meet at Navy. Towson will also compete at the meet, which is scheduled for a 4:00 pm start.