LEWISBURG, Pa. – Freshman Carolyn Koch finished second in the 100 yard freestyle and set her third school record in as many days to lead the Lehigh swimming and diving teams on the final day of competition at the Patriot League Championships. Koch’s strong finish Saturday led the Mountain Hawk women to a fifth place finish for the second straight year, while the men finished in fourth place for the eighth consecutive year.
Koch broke the previous mark of 52.64 seconds in the morning with a 51.12 and then bested that mark in the finals with a time of 50.99 to finish second for the Lehigh women’s top finish of the championships. The Lehigh women set five new school records in the three-day event, with Koch now owning the school records in the 50, 100 and 200 yard freestyle events.
Lehigh had three swimmers score in the 200 yard breaststroke. Senior Emily DiDonato finished in sixth place with a time of 2:19.16, while in the B final, freshman Melissa Feeney swam a 2:21.70 to finish tenth and sophomore Kim Weyand timed in at 2:26.33 to finish in 15th place.
Freshman Courtney Patterson capped a strong championship with a fifth place finish in the 200 fly with a finals time of 2:04.98. Sophomore Mary Samuels was tenth in that same event, clocking in at 2:07.89. Sophomore Alissa Leung capped Lehigh’s individual scoring performances by finishing 12th in the 200 yard backstroke with a time of 2:03.78.
In the final event of the championships, Koch and Patterson teamed with senior Katie Haycraft and junior Stephanie Yaszemski to finish fifth in the 400 free relay with a time of 3:32.34.
The Mountain Hawks finished with 312 points, 230 behind fourth place Army. Navy rolled to its second straight women’s team title with 836 points, while Bucknell edged Colgate by 15 points for second place.
On the men’s side, four Mountain Hawks posted top eight finishes Saturday at Bucknell’s Kinney Natatorium. Sprinters Chris Hoke and Demetri Karedis placed fourth and fifth in the 100 free to lead the way.
Just two hundredths of a second separated the junior Hoke and the senior Karedis in the 100 free. Hoke edged Karedis for fourth place for Lehigh’s top finish on the final day of competition.
Three Mountain Hawks scored points in the 1650 yard freestyle with sophomore Danny Bennett leading the way with a sixth place finish in a time of 15:47.11. Sophomore Jake Greene finished 12th with a time of 16:31.55 while senior Will Dearden finished 15th with a time of 16:20.07.
Freshman Jacob Hassel reached the main final in the 200 yard butterfly, finishing seventh with a time of 1:52.60, while sophomore Michael Wheaton took tenth place with a time of 1:54.95.
Lehigh placed three in the B final in the 200 yard backstroke. Junior Matt Chrzanowski led the way finishing tenth with a time of 1:52.08. Sophomores Sean Brant and Martin Kendig took 12th and 13th place respectively. Brant had a finals time of 1:53.70, while Kendig was .21 seconds behind.
Sophomore Dan Bateman scored two team points in the men’s one meter dive as he finished 15th with a time of 195.20.
In the final event of the championships, Hoke, Karedis, Kendig and senior Frank Cuzzola teamed to place fourth in the 400 free relay with a time of 3:02.07.
As a team Lehigh once again finished in fourth place, with 393.5 points. The Mountain Hawks finished 150 points behind third place Bucknell and 123.5 points ahead of fifth place American. Navy won its tenth straight title on the men’s side, by more than 260 points over second place Army.
The Lehigh men set three school records during the championships to go along with the five women’s records that were set.
Final Women’s Team Standings
1. Navy (836 pts.)
2. Bucknell (670)
3. Colgate (655)
4. Army (542)
5. LEHIGH (312)
6. Lafayette (185)
7. Holy Cross (120)
8. American (117)
Men’s Final Team Standings
1. Navy (995.5 pts.)
2. Army (734)
3. Bucknell (543.5)
4. LEHIGH (393.5)
5. American (270)
6. Colgate (189)
7. Lafayette (178)
8. Holy Cross (133.5)