Catholic Dominates with 12 Victories in Stunning Showdown Against Mary Washington

WASHINGTON, D.C – The Catholic men’s swimming and diving squad commenced the new year with a dominating 164-98 triumph over Mary Washington on Saturday at the Dufour Center Pool. Out of the 14 events held throughout the day, Catholic secured first place in all but two. Seven different Cardinals emerged victorious in individual events, and the team executed two clean sweeps.
 
Sean Kelty established an early lead for the Cardinals by winning the 1000 freestyle. He completed the distance event in 10:10.46, overpowering the competition by more than six seconds. The sophomore also clinched first in the 200 IM with a time of 2:01.07, just edging his opponent by 0.3 seconds to attain his second win of the day. 

Teddy Tsakumis and Jackson Hicks both captured two individual victories during the meet. Tsakumis dominated in the 100 and 200 backstroke events, finishing nearly three seconds faster than his rivals, recording a 52.97 in the 100 and a 2:01.80 in the 200. Hicks achieved success in the 100 and 200 breaststroke, touching in at 1:00.20 to outpace his nearest competitor by a second in the 100 and finishing with over a four-second margin in the 200 (2:12.63) to initiate a Catholic sweep. Kelty and Bill Purcell followed suit to maximize the Cardinals’ points in the event. 

John Holler and Shawn Mashburn each recorded individual victories along with a runner-up finish against the Eagles. After touching in third place at the 50-meter mark of the 200 freestyle, Holler rallied to win with a time of 1:47.94. He secured second place in the 500 freestyle, timing in at 4:57.16, falling behind Mashburn, who took first place with a 4:55.78. Mashburn’s second-place finish was in the 1000 freestyle (10:16.86) during the other Catholic sweep of the day, with Kelty clinching first and Reid Knuckles (10:38.90) completing the trio in third.

James Caldwell joined the winning ranks with an outstanding performance in the 50 freestyle. The sophomore raced to victory with a time of 22.45 seconds in a heat that had five swimmers finish within a second of one another. 

Jack Thompson became the seventh Cardinal to achieve first place after winning the 100 freestyle. He clocked in at 49.11, outpacing three Eagles who finished closely behind him.

The Cardinals also won both relay events to conclude an impressive display that granted Catholic its first win over Mary Washington in recent memory. This marks the fourth consecutive season the Cardinals have faced the Eagles, and it represents their initial victory in the series since prior to 2022. 

The Cardinals will stay home for their next meet on Friday, January 24, when they host Marymount at the Dufour Center for a non-conference match beginning at 1 p.m.