Hopkins In 2nd Place at Miami Men's Swimming Invitational

Blue Jays Trail Only National Power Kenyon After Day One

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Head coach George Kennedy's Blue Jays got off to a quick start at the Miami Invitational

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Dec. 6, 2003

OXFORD, OH - The Johns Hopkins men's swimming team accumulated 433.5 points on the first day of the 2003 Miami (OH) Invitational and currently sits in second place in the eight-team field. The Blue Jays trail just perennial Division III national power Kenyon and rank ahead of a pair of Division I and a pair of Division II schools. The Blue Jays have been NCAA Division III national runners-up each of the last two years.

The Blue Jays earned points in all five events held on day one, but excelled in the 500 freestyle and the 200 IM. In the 500 free, the Blue Jays had four individuals in the final (top 9) and had six individuals place in the top 11. Sophomores Matt Chana (Northbrook, IL/Glenbrook North) and Brian Sneed (Chattanooga, TN/McCallie) placed third and fifth, respectively, with times of 4:32.06 and 4:34.32. Senior Oliver Buccicone (Rochester, MN/Lourdes) finished seventh (4:38.39) and freshman Richard Guerard (Chatham, NJ/Morristown-Beard) finished ninth (4:39.41) to account for Hopkins' four individuals in the finals. Junior Jon Kleinman (North Oaks, MN/Mounds View) added a 10^th-place showing with a time of 4:35.41 as he was the top finisher in the consolations, while freshman Mark Ramaly (Bloomsburg, PA/Central Columbia) was 11^th as he clocked in at 4:38.09.

In the 200 IM the Blue Jays had two individuals in the finals as junior J.P. Balfour (Plano, TX/Plano East) finished seventh in a time of 1:55.73, while sophomore Zane Hamilton (Chattanooga, TN/McCallie) was one spot behind in eighth place with a time of 1:56.67. Sophomore Sean Kim (Silver Spring, MD/Paint Branch) (14^th/1:56.03) and senior Scott Pitz (Paoli, PA/Conestoga) (16^th/1:56.85) were point-getters in the consolation finals as well.

Hopkins used two finishers in the top nine in the 50 free to gain additional team points as sophomore Tyler Harris (Lancaster, OH/Lancaster) and senior Kyle Robinson (Holden, MA/Wachusett Regional) placed sixth and seventh, respectively, with times of 21:37 and 21:39. In addition, freshmen Kevin Walsh (Athens, GA/Cedar Shoals) and Dave Strickland (Houston, TX/Strake Jesuit) scored in the consolation finals for the Blue Jays as Walsh clocked in at 21:61 to tie for 14^th, while Strickland placed 18^th with a time of 22:19.

A third-place finish by the 200 free relay team and a fourth-place showing by the 400 medley relay team closed out JHU's impressive showing on the first day. The team of Harris, Walsh, Robinson and freshman Paul Zalweski (St. Louis, MO/Kirkwood) earned a third-place finish in the 200 free relay with a time of 1:24.53, while Walsh, Kim, Harris and Strickland were fourth in the 400 medley relay with a time of 3:29.07.

Miami Invitational

Team Scoring * Day 1

Kenyon-553.50, Johns Hopkins-433.50, Emory-338, Miami University-229.50, Carnegie Mellon-179.50, Lewis-158, Wheeling Jesuit-126, University of Cincinnati-125.

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