2023 Atlantic 10 Fan Guide: Who Can Stop Another George Washington Sweep?

2023 Atlantic 10 Championships

• Feb. 15-18
• The SPIRE Institute
  • Geneva, Ohio
• Schedule

The 2023 Atlantic 10 Championships kick off next week at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio. Let’s take a look at the top swimmers and matchups to watch as George Washington tries to make it a team title three-peat on the men’s side and back-to-back on the woman’s side.

• Participating Teams: Davidson, Fordham, George Mason, George Washington, La Salle, Massachusetts, St. Louis, St. Bonaventure, Duquesne (women only), Rhode Island (women only), Richmond (women only)

Schedule

Wednesday

• 200 medley relay
• Women’s 1-Meter Diving
• 800 free relay

Thursday

• 500 free
• 200 IM
• 50 free
• Men’s 1-Meter Diving
• 200 free relay

Friday

• 400 IM
• 100 fly
• 200 free
• 100 breast
• 100 back
• Women’s 3-Meter Diving
• 400 medley relay

Saturday

• 1650 free
• 200 back
• 100 free
• 200 breast
• 200 fly
• Men’s 3-Meter Diving
• 400 free relay

Stanley Seeks 3rd Straight Butterfly Sweep

Each of the past two years, Davison College senior Shelby Stanley had swept the 100 and 200 fly en route to A-10 Most Outstanding Performer honors. But repeating that feat again this season seems like a tall order, at least on paper.

Stanley owns the conference’s top time this season in the 100 fly (53.95), but she’s only ranked seventh in the 200 fly (2:04.12). George Washington sophomore Moriah Freitas owns the top seed in the 200 fly with a 1:59.97, nearly as fast as Stanley’s winning time last year (1:59.35). Not far behind is George Mason junior Abbey Murtaugh, who has gone 2:00.11 this season.

If star George Mason sophomore Ali Tyler opts to swim the 100 fly, Stanley’s quest for another fly sweep would become even more difficult. Tyler’s best time this season is only a blink behind Stanley at 54.11, but she already holds conference-leading times in the 50 free, 100 back, and 200 back — the same three events that she won last year — so she likely will swim those instead of the 100 fly. Even without Tyler in the mix, Fordham’s Jess Zebrowski (54.20) and Freitas (54.22) could threaten Stanley’s chances of a three-peat in the 100 fly.

Tyler Eyes 3 More Individual Titles

George Mason sophomore Ali Tyler burst onto the scene last year with gold medals in the 50 free, 100 back, and 200 back, earning Most Outstanding Rookie honors along the way while helping the Patriots to their first two relay victories in program history at A-10s. She appears on track to pick up right where she left off last year with conference-leading times in the 50 free (22.68), 100 back (53.53), and 200 back (1:57.55).

Tyler’s toughest test could come in the 200 back, where George Washington freshman Phoebe Wright’s season-best time of 1:57.83 earned her the No. 2 seed just .28 seconds behind. Wright, a two-time A-10 Freshman of the Week this season, is also the top seed in the 200 free (1:48.65). In the 100 back, Tyler faces off against George Washington sophomore Barbara Schaal, whom she outdueled in both the 100 back and 200 back last year. And in the 50 free, Tyler has a bit more breathing room with her season-best time nearly half a second faster than La Salle’s Gabriela Herbreder (23.02) and Schaal (23.17).

There’s also a chance that Tyler could opt to swim the 100 free instead of the 200 back for her third event. Her season-best time of 51.29 ranks 10th in the conference, about a second behind Schaal (50.33) and George Mason teammate Jacquee Clabeaux (50.02).

Osina Aims for Big Send-Off

George Washington fifth-year Marek Osina returns as the reigning Most Outstanding Swimmer after sweeping the IM events last year along with the 200 back. This year, the versatile Czech standout appears in good position to repeat in the IM events as the top seed in each, but his third individual event is more up in the air.

Osina’s season-best in the 200 back is just 1:50.93, seven seconds slower than it was at this time last year and 13th in the conference this season. The top time in the 200 back this season belongs to his George Washington teammate, junior Karol Mlynarczyk, whose 1:42.69 is the fastest in the A-10 by nearly five seconds.

The 200 breast is a more logical choice for Osina’s third event as he’s ranked second this season behind George Mason sophomore Tyler Lentine (1:59.32), a Cincinnati transfer. Osina won the 200 breast title two years ago as a junior, clocking a lifetime-best 1:56.93. His teammate, Bode Ringenbach (2:01.17), and defending champion Jack Artis of UMass (2:03.26) could also battle for the top spot on the podium.

European Showdown in Men’s 100 Free

George Washington junior Karol Mlynarczyk enters A-10s with conference-leading times in the 100 free, 200 back, and 100 back, the latter of which he won last year. His closest competition looks to be in the 100 free, where a fellow European is only four tenths of a second back of his season-best time.

Mlynarczyk, a George Washington junior from Poland, will have to fend off Fordham’s Taras Zherebetskyy, an Italian graduate transfer from McKendree. Mlynarczyk’s season-best time is a 44.47, one of two sub-45 swimmers in the field along with Zherebetskyy (44.87) and George Washington’s Matthew Whelan (44.95).

SwimSwam’s Picks

Men

1. George Washington
2. George Mason
3. St. Bonaventure

Women

1. George Washington
2. George Mason
3. Fordham