TOWSON, Md. – Towson University swimmers and divers of the past and present competed in the Tigers' annual Alumni Meet, held at Burdick Pool on Saturday afternoon. The meet was part of a full weekend of events for the Tigers.
 
"This is one of the best parts of every season," Head coach Pat Mead explained. "Having the alumni come back. It really is a full weekend with a golf tournament, a cookout, the meet and then the auction tonight. It's great to sit there and have people come back, bring their kids back. Some of the guys that came back swam while I was raising my kids so they come back now with their own kids. It's kind of a full circle.
 
"This is one of the largest group of alumni that we've had come back in a long time," Mead continued. "They're an integral part of our success. If we're going to continue to move our program forward, we're dependent on our alumni. The contributions from them, along with the donations from the parents and all the auction items tonight. It's a great kickoff to the season."
 
Current swimmers and divers were given the chance to interact and socialize with alumni of the program in a fun, competitive setting. After the meet, the Tigers hosted a dinner with a silent and live auction. The team hosted a golf tournament on Friday for the alumni and a cookout in the evening.
 
"We used today as a sort of tune-up to see where the kids who did not swim in Florida are," Mead explained. "Now we have everyone having swum one meet in the last week so we have a better assessment of where we're going to go in the future as far as the Potomac Relays and our meet at William & Mary."
 
On the men's team, Mead named Mike Johnson as one of the swimmers who had a solid performance in the pool today. Mead singled out divers Kelsey Jehl and Hannah Ostrem, along with Rhyann Lowrey who had strong performances.
 
"The divers are doing an outstanding job," Mead said. "I think some of the greatest progressions we're seeing, in terms of improvement, is really coming from the divers. Especially the freshmen divers. They really are learning new dives.
 
"Jake Casey is our only male diver and if you had seen him over the boards three weeks ago, you would have thought it was summer league diving," Mead continued. "Watching him today, it's like a completely transformed athletes. That's going to help us tremendously in the dual meets."
 
The Towson men's and women's swimming and diving teams will compete in the Potomac Relays on Saturday, October 2. The meet will begin at 3 p.m. and take place on American University's campus.