Army Finishes Seventh at NC State Invite

Saturday, November 20

Greensboro, NC

All Day

Army West Point

NC State Invite Day 3

Army Finishes Seventh at NC State Invite

November 20, 2021 | Men's Swimming and Diving, Women's Swimming and Diving

Results (PDF)

WEST POINT, N.Y. – Army West Point Swimming & Diving closed out the NC State Invite on Saturday evening at the Greensboro Aquatic Center by finishing seventh on both the men's and women's sides.

The Black Knights will leave the three-day midseason meet with a new program record in the women's 200 IM, four NCAA B Cut swims, five top-10 finishes and multiple personal-best performances.

The Men's Meet
For the second-consecutive day, Evan Zhang led Army (3-2) in the pool by securing a top-10 finish and swimming an NCAA B Cut, as he did so in the 200 Breast (10th, 1:57.13). Zhang was one of 10 Cadets that advanced from the prelim sessions into the finals.

The trio of Ian Tansill, CJ Bernauer and Sean Dwyer opened up the evening for the Black Knights with solid performances in the 1650 Free. Tansill posted a time of 15:31.31, shaving 0.01 off of his previous personal best, to finish 14th in the event and was followed by Bernauer (26th) and Dwyer 27th).

The mile was one of three events that the Black Knights secured multiple finals spots in, as the team also achieved the feat in the 200 Back and the 200 Breast. Sam Wesley paced the team in the 200-yard backstroke with a 19th-place finish and was joined in the scoring by Johan Pretorius (24th). Bernauer also represented Army in the event and swam his way to 30th overall.

In addition to Zhang's big finish, the Cadets also got a top-20 swim in the 200 Breast from Evan Yoo (15th). Army also collected points in the event from both Bruce Bannister (23rd) and Alex Edwards (28th).

The team's lone representative in the 100 Free, Owen Harlow, provided an additional highlight to the day when he shaved half a second off his personal best to finish 28th in the event.

The Women's Meet
On the final day of action at the invite, the Black Knights (3-4) sent 11 total Cadets to the finals.

Tania Rodriguez and Erica Esterly kicked off the evening session by competing in the 1650 Free, finishing 14th and 15th respectively while swimming the event for the first time this season.

Army's strongest showing of the day was in the 200 Fly, which saw five different swimmers represent the Black & Gold. Melinda Zhang touched the wall in 2:00.30 to finish 14th overall and was joined in the top 20 by Meghan Cole (18th) and Jasmine Coe (19th). Margaret Kroening (25th) and Esterly (26th) also contributed to the team score with their finishes.

The squad additionally sent multiple Black Knights to the 200 Breast finals, which featured four from their ranks. Aurelie Migault placed a team-best 21st when she laid down a time of 2:19.50 and was closely followed by teammate Megan Colpo, who finished 23rd with a time of 2:20.52. Sarah Platt (23rd) and Maggie McDonald (26th) rounded out Army's scoring in the event.

Cadets' Corner
"One of our goals at the beginning of the year was to raise the level of competition every day whether that be in practice, the weight room, or in competition. To have the opportunity to swim and dive against some of the top tier teams in the nation is just what our team needs to do on a regular basis if we want to achieve that goal. This meet showed our team's resilience and grit as we needed to compete 100% each race over the three-day meet. I am very proud of this team's ability to always fight no matter the time on the watch or scores on the board. Our next meet has been circled on our calendar for months now and I am confident in us to learn from our mistakes and compete our best." - Daniel Alaimo

Team Standings – Men
1. NC State - 2,207
2. Arizona State - 1,654
3. Stanford - 1,476.50
4. Duke - 987
5. Penn State - 893.50
6. UNC - 796
7. Army West Point - 453
8. George Washington - 51
9. UNC Wilmington - 48

Team Standings – Women
1. NC State - 1,990.50
2. Stanford - 1,722
3. Duke - 1,318
4. UNC - 1,045.50
5. Arizona State - 980
6. Penn State - 856
7. Army West Point - 307
8. George Washington - 146
9. UNC Wilmington - 96
10. James Madison - 37

Up Next
Army will have nearly a two-week break from competition before heading to Annapolis to take on Navy in the annual Star Meet on Thursday, Dec. 9. The competition against the Midshipmen is scheduled for a 5 p.m. start at Lejeune Hall and will be the team's first action of the year against a Patriot League opponent.

Follow Along
For complete coverage of Army West Point swimming & diving, follow the Black Knights on Twitter and Instagram at @ArmyWP_SwimDive and online at www.goarmywestpoint.com.