October 5, 2009

By Ashley Bryant
Special to howard-bison.com

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Howard men's and women's swim teams took a dive at the Potomac Relay Invitational, held at American University Oct. 2, to open their 2009-10 season.

Swimmers showcased their strokes as they came off the starting blocks, giving healthy competition to some of Howard's neighboring competitors; The University of Mary Washington, Towson, George Mason, Georgetown, American, and George Washington universities were all in attendance. The men had an impressive finish in the 500 yard freestyle relay, finishing 4th, and the women's team placed 9th in the race. The women and men finished 7th overall in the meet.

After the invitational, the team takes a week off before they take on the Delaware Blue Hens at the University of Delaware on Oct. 10. The team heads on the road again to match up against Seton Hall University Oct. 16, American University Oct. 30 and Catholic University of America Nov. 14.

Swimmers head to Fairfax, Virginia Nov. 20 to Nov. 22 for all day matches at The George Mason Invitational before the holiday break. After a brief holiday recess, Bison swimmers take on Drexel at the University of Maryland Baltimore College Jan. 9 and George Washington University Jan. 22.

The team competes in the senior meet against Mt. St. Mary's, St. Peter's and VMI Jan. 23 at noon. After the senior meet, the team squares up against Georgetown University Jan. 30 before finishing the season with the HBCU and CCSA Championships. For the HBCU Championships, held Feb. 6, the team takes on FAMU, and North Carolina A&T. The team travels to the University of Tennessee for the CCSA Championships Feb. 18 to Feb. 20 to end the season.