Bison Continue Success at Loyola; Goins, Andrews Duo Shine Again against Greyhounds, Mountaineers
Senior Ashley Goins (Silver Spring, MD) and sophomore Chelsea Andrews (Glenside, PA) notched two impressive victories for the Howard University Swimming and Diving teams on Saturday. Traveling to Baltimore to face Loyola and Mount Saint Mary's, the Bison swam some of the their best times of the season, capped by some great all-around performances by Goins and Andrews. The Bison women's team fell to Loyola 164-112 and to Mt. St. Mary's 148-117. The Bison men's team lost to the Greyhounds 189-74.
On the men's side, the team received exceptional performances from sophomore Zadok Isaacs (Cantero Village, Trinidad and Tobago.) Isaacs individually turned-in four season best swims, the first coming in the lead-off leg on the men's 400 medley relay. His split time of :54.87 gave way to freshman Darell Hungerford (Clinton, MD,) junior Steven Lott (Los Angeles, CA,) and senior Damjan Strbac (Zagreb, Croatia) for the team's second place finishing time of 3:42.00.
Isaacs also notched second place honors for his determined efforts in the 200 butterfly (2:05.35) and the 200 backstroke (2:00.84,) narrowly missing first place by 0.18 seconds. Strbac notched a solid-second place finish in his 100 freestyle with a time of 50.06. Lott earned third place honors in his 100 backstroke (1:00.65) while fellow senior Justin Morrison (Memphis, TN) took third place in the 200 freestyle with a season-best time of 2:03.69.
For the women, Goins matched-up against seven Loyola Greyhound divers and defeated each of them handily. Her 1-meter score of 245.62 was ahead of the field by over 20 points and her 3-meter score of 198.73 was victorious by over 12 points.
"I've been trying some new routines and feel pretty good for this point in the season," said Goins.
Andrews took charge of the 200 and 100 freestyle after midway of each race. The sophomore's 200 freestyle time of 1:57.78 was very close to her career-best time in the event. Her 100 freestyle time of :53.66 look especially impressive in the final two laps when she separated herself from her opponents. Andrews also defeated the Loyola women in 100 butterfly with a time of 1:00.21 as well as anchoring the team's impressive 200 freestyle relay that took down Loyola, as well. Supporting freshmen Janai Ederaine (Corona, CA,) Ashley Douglas (Missouri City, TX,) and fellow sophomore E'lan Brewer (Lansing, MI,) Andrews brought home the overall second place time of 1:42.78, the team's best time this season.
Other noteworthy swims include freshman Camille Dykes (Maplewood, MN) and senior co-captain Monique Major (Philadelphia, PA) finishing first and second, respectively against Mt. St. Mary's in the 100 breaststroke. Dykes also defeated the Mountaineers in the 200 breaststroke with a season-best mark of 2:44.93.
The Bison will now travel to Fairfax, Virginia this weekend for the George Mason Patriot Invitational. The three-day event features runs from Friday, November 19 through Sunday, November 21, featuring nine formidable institutions.