RMSC's Natalie Dobrzykowski Commits to Delaware

Rockville-Montgomery Swim Club’s Natalie Dobrzykowski has committed to study and swim for the University of Delaware in the fall of 2019 in the class of 2023.

“I chose the University of Delaware because of the welcoming team, coaches, and academic opportunities. I can’t wait to be a Blue Hen!”

Dobrzykowski is a senior at Colonel Zadok A. Magruder High School in Rockville, Maryland, where she is captain of the swim team. She recently competed at the 2019 MPSSAA 4A3A State Championships and placed 2nd in the 100 free (52.05) and 4th in the 100 back (58.89). Both times were personal bests.

In club swimming, Dobrzykowski increased her training load for her senior year and moved up to Rockville-Montgomery Swim Club’s National Training Group in April 2018. She had a successful long course season last summer, improving in all her events and landing three top-16 finishes at the Eastern Zone Senior Long Course Championships.

Dobrzykowski would have been the 2nd-fastest 100 freestyler and 200 backstroker, the third 200 freestyler, and the 6th 100 backstroker on the Blue Hens’ squad this year.

Top times include:

  • 100 free – 52.05

  • 200 free – 1:52.70

  • 100 back – 58.89

  • 200 back – 2:04.37

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RMSC 11-12's Set 2 National Age Group Records

Rockville Montgomery Swim Club’s mixed 11-12 relay team of Hannah Carr, Calix McCormick, Tyler Coapstick, and Amy Qin took down two short course 11-12 mixed free relay NAG records at the 2019 Potomac Valley 14&U Junior Olympic Championships last weekend.

In the mixed 200 free relay, Carr led off in 25.53, McCormick split 23.94, then Coapstick went 23.71, and Qin anchored in 24.20 for a final time of 1:37.38. The previous record of 1:38.43 was from 2018.

In the mixed 400 free relay, Qin led off in 53.42, then Carr split 54.29, then McCormick went 52.35, and Coapstick anchored in 51.23 for a final time of 3:31.29. The previous record of 3:58.08, was set in 2017.

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Nathan Watts commits to the United States Naval Academy

Rockville Montgomery Swim Club’s Nathan Watts has committed to the Naval Academy for this coming fall. - You can view the article here

“The opportunities the Academy provides both academically and athletically are unlike any other. The team and coaching staff are phenomenal and I am excited to be joining the Brigade of Midshipmen. Go Navy! Beat Army!”

TOP TIMES

  • 500y free – 4:36.10

  • 100y free – 9:25.82

  • 1650y free – 15:44.74

Watts excels the longer the distance. The Rockville High School senior is the defending 500 free champion after his winning performance in the event last year at the Maryland 4A/3A HS Championships, where he was also 10th in the 100 back. Last summer, he finished 5th in the 1500m free at the 2018 Eastern Zone Championships.

Watts is a 2017-2018 USA Swimming Scholastic All-American, and is captain of the Rockville High School Swim Team.

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RMSC is Hosting a 50th Anniversary Reunion

The Rockville Montgomery Swim Club proudly invites all alumni, parents and friends of RMSC to a 50th Anniversary gathering. Held at the Social Hall of the F. Scott Fitzgerald Theatre on the grounds of the Rockville Mansion (603 Edmonston Drive Rockville MD 20851) on December 28th from 7pm - 11pm.

Food, Beer and Wine will be available.

There will be a $20 charge for this event.

We are greatly looking forward to celebrating what is in our opinion, the greatest program that the City and County have ever had.

We look forward to catching up with generations past, recent and parents of the current team members.

See you on the 28th -

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RMSC Swimmer breaks Venezuelan National Record.

While RMSC was in Greensboro NC at USA Swimming Winter Nationals fellow team member Jorge Otaiza ventured to his home country of Venezula for some competition of his own.

Jorge broke the National Record in the 100M Butterfly in a time of 55.92. On his way to victory in the 50M Butterfly he broke the RMSC team record with a time of 25.75, eclipsing the old mark of 25.92.

Jorge also finished first in the 50, 100 Freestyles as well as the 200 Butterfly. Narrowly missing the RMSC Team Record in the 50 Free.

Congratulations to Jorge.

RMSC Earns 7th place at USA Winter Nationals

A small yet fierce group of RMSC swimmers headed down to Greensboro NC to compete at USA Swimming’s Winter National Championships.

RMSC finished a combined 7th place with the Men’s team finishing 6th overall. The Men were represented by Alex Colson (15pts), Jacob Rosner (2pts) and Ryan Vipavetz (44pts).

Ryan leading the way is RMSC’s newest National Champion winning the 200 Butterfly in a RMSC Team Record of 1:59.43. The swim was also a pool record as well as an Olympic Trials qualifying time. They say there is strength in numbers, RMSC had 3 swimming in the 200 Fly that night. Alex Colson finished just behind Ryan in a 2:01.55 which earned him a 4th place finish and Jacob Rosner achieved a 21st place finish with a 2:07.76.

(watch Alex and Ryan swim here)

Alex Colson also swam in the 200 IM and the 100 butterfly. Finishing 27th and 35th respectively.

Jacob Rosner also competed in the 800, 400, 200 freestyle events. Finishing 15th in the 400 free with a time of 4:02.57. Jacob had a very consistent showing finishing in the top 21 in 3 of his 4 events (20th, 15th, 21st).

Ryan qualified for Olympic Trials 2 days prior to his National Title in the 400 Freestyle in a team record 3:56.67 placing 6th. He was also 8th in the 800 Free and swam the 100 Fly (39th), 200 Free (34th).

RMSC’s ladies were represented by Catherine Belyakov, Kaitlin Gravell and Joyce Wu.

Kaitlin Gravell was able to score 3pts in the 400IM on her way to a RMSC Team Record 4:54.56 and a 14th place finish. She also swam in the 200IM and 200 Breastroke.

Catherine Belyakov competed in the 200IM, 100Fly, 100 and 200 Breastroke events. With consistency in her races, placing in each event from 30th-39th.

Joyce Wu, our youngest competitor at age 14 swam in the 100 and 200 Breastroke. Finishing in 47th (100BR) and 57th (200BR) we certainly will be watching Joyce continue to hone her racing skills as we head in the RMSC’s Holiday Invitational.

Congratulations to all of our athletes who competed at Winter Nationals. With a National Champion and Olympic Trials qualifier, RMSC is looking forward to see what our athletes are made of heading into the rest of the season.

You can see all of the Finals events on the USA Swimming Website or on USA Swimmings YouTube Page

USA Swimming Recognizes 8 RMSC Scholastic All Americans

We are pleased to congratulate our athletes for their accomplishment in the classroom and the pool. Timothy, Eli, Olivia, Grace, Kaitlin, Sophia, Andrei, Nathan were selected to the team for the 2017-2018 season by achieving the following:

  • Grade completion requirement – applicant must have completed 9th, 10th 11th or 12th grade

  • GPA Requirement – minimum 3.5 GPA for the current academic year

    • Honors, Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, and dual credit college level academic courses will earn one half (.5) extra Grade Point. Grades for academic subjects only are calculated – history/social studies, English, mathematics, sciences, foreign languages, computer sciences, visual and performing arts if indicated as academic. A grade lower than a C in an academic subject will mean automatic rejection of the applicant. Grades for non-academic courses will NOT be calculated – art, band, choir, orchestra, health, driver education, physical education, and any other class marked non-academic on a transcript.

    • There will be no special status designation for a 4.0 GPA other than for a national champion who also has a 4.0 GPA.

  • Pool Requirements

    • Applicants must have swum an individual pool time equal to a 2017 Winter Junior qualifying time in any individual event during the SAA qualifying period (August 16, 2017 – August 15, 2018) with qualifying times in SWIMS – list of times are posted on the USA Swimming website. A qualifying time will be available for selection from the SWIMS database during the application process. Only ONE time is necessary and only ONE application is necessary.

  • If you meet these requirements and would like to apply for the 2018-2019 SAA honors please peak with your child’s coach.

Munson and Hjelle Commit to swim in College

Drew Munson from Olney has committed to swim at Towson University.

“I chose Towson because of how welcoming the team and coaching staff were. I am excited to learn and improve in the classroom and in the pool. Can’t wait to be a tiger!!”

Munson swims year-round for Rockville Montgomery Swim Club. In both high school and club swimming he focuses on the longer end of the freestyle range, and yet when called upon, he swims sprints. At the 2018 Washington Metropolitan Prep School Swim Dive League Championships in February, Munson competed in the 50/100 free events for Good Counsel. The next week at Metros he swam the 200 free (1:43.89 for 11th) and 500 free (4:39.59 for 5th), both lifetime bests.

Erica Hjelle from KSAC will be a Georgetown Hoya!

Hjelle does her club swimming with Rockville Montgomery Swim Club and has achieved the Winter Juniors standard in her signature event, the 200 breast. She recorded four lifetime bests and made one finals appearance at NCSAs this past summer after notching a trio of personal bests at NCSA Championships in March.

Hjelle is a six-time MPSSAA 4A State Championship finalist representing Sherwood High School. As a junior, she was the 100 breast runner-up and placed third in the 200 IM. She finished fourth in both events as a sophomore and took seventh in the 100 breast during her rookie campaign.

She told Swimming World:

“I am so happy to say that I will continue my academic and swimming career at Georgetown University next year.  I can’t wait to attend such a  phenomenal school and join the amazing team of student athletes.  I could not have done it without the support of my awesome coaches, family, teammates, and friends.  Huge thank you to Coach Leavitt and the rest of the Georgetown Swim and Dive staff for making this possible.  Hoya Saxa!”

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RMSC Represents Well at Irish Open

With their swims at the NCSA Junior Nationals last month, Eli Fouts and Ryan Vipavetz qualified to represent Team USA on the NCSA All-American Team in Dublin, Ireland at the Irish Open, held April 4-8.  The team arrived in Ireland on March 31, and was able to tour the Country and see the sights before competing.  In the pool, the American contingent fared very well against the top Irish athletes, with many appearances in finals and many best times, despite the meet being held in long course meters, and the Americans having swam in short course yards all season. 

Ryan placed 3rd in 800 free, 4th in 200 fly in a U.S. Senior National cut and 17-18 team record 2:01.51, 6th in 400 free, 7th in 100 fly, top 16 in 200 free, and was part of the 2nd place 800 free relay.

Eli was 5th in 50 breast in a 17-18 and Senior team record 28.85, 5th in 100 breast, top 16 in 50 free, 200 breast, 50 fly, and 100 fly, and was part of the 2nd place 400 men's and 400 mixed medley relays.

RMSC at NCSA's Shines Bright, Sends 2 to Dublin Ireland

RMSC had a top 10 finish at NCSA Junior Nationals, held March 13-17 in Orlando, FL, scoring over 200 more points than last year.  52 swimmers qualified and made the trip to compete against some of the best 18&Under swimmers in the country, representing over 150 teams and 1540 athletes.

Two of our swimmers qualified to represent Team USA on the NCSA All-American Team on April 4-8 at the Irish Open in Dublin, Ireland.  Eli Fouts qualified by winning the 100 breast (53.55), while Ryan Vipavetz qualified by placing 2nd in 1000 free (9:05.09).  Ryan led the team in scoring with 100 points, had podium finishes with a 3rd in 500 free and 5th in 1650 free, and added a 9th in 200 fly.  Eli also added podium finishes with a 3rd in 50 breast and a 6th in 100 IM, and his 50 breast and 100 breast were 17-18 and Senior team records.

Eli Fouts - 1st Place 100 Breastroke

Eli Fouts - 1st Place 100 Breastroke

Ryan Vipavetz - 2nd place 1000 FreestyleJacob Rosner 4th place 1000 Freestyle

Ryan Vipavetz - 2nd place 1000 Freestyle

Jacob Rosner 4th place 1000 Freestyle

 

Also helping our boys to a 6th place team finish: Jacob Rosner made the podium with a 4th in 1000 free, and broke the 15-16 team record in 500 free.  The boys' medley relays also found the podium, with the 400 medley of Jack Rose, Fouts, Alex Colson, and Vipavetz taking 5th, and the 200 medley of Rose, Fouts, Colson, and Ian Mackey taking 8th.

400 Medley Relay - Rose, Fouts, Colson, Vipavetz

400 Medley Relay - Rose, Fouts, Colson, Vipavetz

 

Our girls were led by Hannah Kannan, who scored 70 points, and broke team records in 17-18 and Senior 50 back, 100 back, and 50 fly.  Olivia French added a podium finish with an 8th in 50 fly.

Others scoring points for the club by finishing top 24 in individual events were: Catherine Belyakov, Alex Colson, Timmy Ellett, Grace Giddings, Kaitlin Gravell, Andrei Schwartz, and Nathan Watts.  Contributing to top 24 scoring relays were: Zach Bayler, Catherine Belyakov, Kate Cosgrove, Alex Colson, Connor Demitz, Maya Drill, Eli Fouts, Hannah Kannan, Ian Mackey, Jack Rose, Jacob Rosner, Andrei Schwartz, Audrey Tirrell, Kai Vilbig, Ryan Vipavetz, and Cece Zhao.

 

Thanks to the Riley Eaton Foundation for its generous contribution in helping to make the trip possible.

USA Swimming National Diversity Select Camp Roster

RMSC's Tia Thomas and Sean Santos have been selected for the National Diversity Select Camp.

Throughout this camp, athletes who are members of minority populations will be encouraged to become leaders in their swimming communities. There will be pool training, motivational and educational sessions and team-building activities. The swimmers’ coaches have also all been invited to attend.

To be eligible for selection, athletes must represent a minority group population that makes up less than 10% of the current USA Swimming membership. The swimmers must be between 14 and 16 years old on the first day of camp and must not have already attended a Diversity Select Camp.

There is also a time component to selection. These swimmers must have achieved at least one Diversity Select Camp time standard, found here. The times are current AAAA National Motivational Times for the 13-14 age group.

Congratulations Tia and Sean!

RMSC Alumni Novak and Alaniz making a mark in the NCAA

RMSC Alumnus Brennan Novak, a Junior at Harvard won the 500 freestyle on 2/22 in a conference meet record time of 4:13.34.  Yale’s Yale’s Kei Hyogo took it out in 1:39.69 to set the pace up front, but Harvard’s Brennan Novak chased him down on the back half. Novak dropped another 8 tenths from his own Ivy League Record, which he set in this morning’s prelims.  

February 6th -  Florida State’s Griffin Alaniz was selected as the ACC Men’s Swimmer of the Week. Alaniz posted two NCAA provisional times at the Auburn Invite against three top 20 squads. The sophomore from Rockville, Maryland, faced off with his Seminole teammates against No. 3 Florida, and Alabama and Auburn, both tied for No. 16. Alaniz won the 200 back with a time of 1:43.37, and placed second in the 400 IM, clocking a 3:49.68.

Weather Alert - Sunday, February 4th, 2018

All County facilities are closed until 12pm on Sunday February 4th, 2018.  Due to the threat of inclement weather the County has made the decision to remained closed during the weather event.

All morning practices as GISC, KSAC, MLK and OSC are CANCELLED.

The Gender Blender Mini Meet at KSAC is CANCELLED

Rockville Swimmers please contact the facility or your coach for your practice schedule.