Swimming and Diving 2/15/2022 12:28:00 PM

Swim & Dive Heads to Navy for Patriot League Championships Wednesday-Saturday

WASHINGTON - After a one-year hiatus, the Patriot League Swimming & Diving Championships will once again be held, and will be back at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis. The meet is set to begin on Wednesday evening, February 16, and conclude Saturday night, February 19. Fans can purchase tickets to attend or can follow along on ESPN+ and the MeetMobile app.

Site Information

An all-session ticket for the entire championship –– the Feb. 16 session is free for everyone –– or tickets for an individual session can be purchased by clicking HERE, visiting the Tickets tab on NavySports.com or through the Navy Sports app available through either ITunes or Google Play library.
An account with the Navy Ticket Office must be created to purchase tickets. The digital tickets can then be downloaded into the wallet on a mobile device.
An all-session ticket is $50, a ticket to a single session of finals is $15 and a ticket to a single session of preliminaries is $10.
Fans without a Department of Defense-approved ID card will not be allowed to drive onto the USNA. Those fans must part outside of the USNA gates and either walk through the gate one security center or park at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium and ride the free shuttle bus to and from the meet.
The shuttle bus begins one hour prior to the start of the first session of the day and runs continuously until after the conclusion of competition nightly.
No matter how someone accesses the USNA, those ages 18 and older must present a photo ID card to gain entry, and those ages 17 and younger must be accompanied by an adult.
Under current Department of Defense COVID-19 requirements, those who have been vaccinated must wear a mask while indoors at the USNA but have the option to remove it while outdoors, and those who have not been vaccinated must wear a mask at all times while on the USNA.
A mask must be worn at all times by everyone, no matter their vaccination status, while riding the shuttle bus and when inside Lejuene Hall.

Notes on American

The Eagles are led by Garland Bartlett who takes the team to her first PL Championships as head coach following five years as an assistant. Bartlett's team has significantly more depth than the last team to attend the championships, with the size of the men's roster having doubled in size from 12 in 2020 to 24 in 2022.
Out of a combined 47 student-athletes in the men's and women's programs at AU, 35 are freshmen and sophomores who have never competed in a Patriot League Championship.
Among those is standout sophomore Mimi Watts who holds three school records and has earned a total of 21 wins so far this season. Watts is expected to be the first AU swimmer, male or female, to finish in the top three at the championship meet since 2013.
Watts will compete individually in 50 free (Thursday), the 100 fly (Friday) and the 200 fly (Saturday), and holds school records in all three events.
Freshman Marissa Kleckner has been particularly strong for the women's team in her debut season, and will look to advance to finals in the 50 free and 500 free. Also in the mix for breakthrough performances are junior Kayla Winters (200 and 400 IM, 200 breaststroke), sophomore Kenzie Cresci (100 and 200 breaststroke), freshman Mallory Meister (200 and 1650 free) and senior Eleanor Felton (50 free, 100 fly, 100 free).
Felton was a standout for AU in its last PL Championships in 2020, setting a then-school record in the 100 fly along with 200 free relay school record.
On the men's side, junior Jonathan Quick looks to make finals in the 500 free, 100 fly and 200 fly.
Sophomores Nick Buckley and Caleb Farris are looking strong for their first PL meet and will compete in the 50 free, 100 free, 100 fly (Buckley) and 200 free (Farris).
The Eagles' strongest diver this season is freshman Griffin Batt who holds the fourth-highest score in program history of 252.43 on the 1-meter board.
In addition to Felton, senior leadership at the PL Championships will come from veterans Adam Kawut (100 and 200 fly), Luke Bennett (200, 500 and 1650 free) and Suzie Davis (200 IM, 100 fly). Junior Sawyer Moseley, graduating in three years, will be competing for a second and final time in the 100 and 200 breaststroke.

Coach Bartlett on the PL Championships

I'm so excited for this program. In the grind of the season I kept telling them, 'you've got to think about the big picture, keep it up,' and I'm excited for all that work to finally show. There's nothing like it with all the teams there and all the energy.
I'd love to have more men make it back into finals. We could definitely have a couple swims every night. I also think we could put together some really fast relays and get one of the top spots there.
We haven't had a female swimmer place in the top three in many years, and Mimi is on track to do that and maybe make the NCAA "B" or even "A" cut. She's one to watch out for.
I think this team is going to surprise themselves with how well they're going to do. It's going to be a great conference meet for us.

Championship Schedule

Wednesday, Feb. 16 – 2 p.m. – Diving Trials; 6 p.m. – Swimming and Diving Finals
Thursday, Feb. 17 – 10 a.m. – Swimming Prelims; 1 p.m. – Diving Trials; 6 p.m. – Swimming and Diving Finals
Friday, Feb. 18 – 10 a.m. – Swimming Prelims; 1 p.m. – Diving Trials; 6 p.m. – Swimming and Diving Finals
Saturday, Feb. 19 – 10 a.m. – Swimming Prelims; 1 p.m. – Diving Trials; (approx) 3:15 p.m. – 1650 Freestyle Early Heats; 6 p.m. – Swimming and Diving Finals

How to Watch