Mary Washington Sweeps CAC Meet

The University of Mary Washington women's swim team won its 19th-consecutive Capital Athletic Conference championship on Sunday night, while the Eagle men won the CAC title for the 15th time, including for the ninth-straight year, at the 2009 CAC Swimming Championships. Eagle head coach Matt Sellman was named the CAC Men's Coach of the Year, while sophomore Stephen Clendenin was named CAC Men's Swimmer of the Year and Tyler Henderson was named the men's Rookie of the Year. For the women, freshman Megan DeSmit was named the CAC Rookie of the Year.

On Sunday, the Eagles saw sophomore Sarah Crockett finish second in the 100 yard freestyle, but in the morning preliminaries, she set the CAC and school records with a time of 52.23, which was later tied in the finals by the winner. In the women's 1650 freestyle, freshman Virginia Page led the Eagles to a 1-2-3 finish with a time of 18:11.42. In the 200 breaststroke, DeSmit finished first with an NCAA provisional qualifying and CAC championship record time of 2:24.23,. The women's 400 free relay took second, but claimed an NCAA provisional cut time of 3:34.44.

The men saw sophomore Brad Dunn win the 1650 freestyle with a CAC record and NCAA provisional qualifying time of 16:18.32. Henderson finished first in the 200 backstroke at 1:54.23, and Clendenin gained another NCAA provisional time and CAC Championship record of 1:52.06. The men's 400 free relay took first at 3:07.58, claiming yet another CAC record.

The Eagles will wait for the announcement for the qualifiers for the NCAA Championships. Crockett has already gained two automatic entries in the championships.

MEN’S TEAM STANDINGS:
1. Mary Washington 851.5,
2. York (Pa.) 683,
3. St. Mary’s (Md.) 470,
4. Salisbury 422.5,
5. Marymount (Va.) 370,
6. Hood 154,
7. Gallaudet 106.

WOMEN’S TEAM STANDINGS:
1. Mary Washington 904,
2. St. Mary’s (Md.) 631,
3. Marymount (Va.) 512,
4. Salisbury 388,
5. York (Pa.) 311,
6. Gallaudet 158,
7. Hood 117.

St. Mary's (Md.) Finishes Second at 2009 CACs
Senior captain Brie McDowell (Doylestown, Pa./Hatboro-Horsham) earned Capital Athletic Conference Female Swimmer-of-the-Year honors for the second time in her three-year career as a member of the St. Mary’s College of Maryland women’s swim team.  McDowell became the first swimmer in CAC history to win seven gold medals as the three-day 2009 CAC Men’s & Women’s Swimming Championships came to a close Sunday night.
 
St. Mary’s head coach Andre Barbins nabbed his third career CAC Women’s Swim Coach-of-the-Year citation as Barbins earned the honor in 2004 and last season.
 
The University of Mary Washington has now won all 19 CAC championship titles since the inception of the conference in 1991 as the Eagles registered 904 points by capturing seven of 18 events.
 
Along with her seven gold medals, McDowell established seven CAC meet records either individually or as part of a relay team.  She notched nine conference records as well as nine St. Mary’s marks.  Four of her record-setting performances were also NCAA automatic qualifying times.
 
The Seahawks finished second in the team standings for the second year in a row with 631 points as SMCM won gold in 10 events.
 
McDowell shattered her own two-year old CAC meet, conference, and school record of 2:04.61 in the 200 back as she shaved nearly four seconds tonight with her event winning time of 2:00.92.  Her time also blew the NCAA ‘A’ cut of 2:04.38 out of the water.
 
Mary Washington sophomore Sarah Crockett (Toano, Va./Lafayette) initially set a CAC meet and conference record in the 100 free as Crockett posted the top time in the morning’s preliminaries with 52.23.  However, it was Marymount (Va.) University senior Emily Campbell (Centreville, Va./Paul VI) who took home the CAC title in the 100 free as Campbell matched Crockett’s time of 52.23 in the finals, while Crockett finished second in 52.79.
 
UMW’s freshman Megan DeSmit (Bridgewater, Va./Turner Ashby) established the CAC meet mark in the 200 breast during the morning’s preliminaries with her NCAA ‘B’ cut of 2:24.23.  DeSmit went on to capture the event title in 2:24.89.
 
Freshman Amanda Pazouki (Silver Spring, Md./JFK) registered a St. Mary’s record in the 200 breast as Pazouki placed fourth in 2:31.67, surpassing current teammate, sophomore Sofia Sokolove’s (Bethesda, Md./Bethesda-Chevy Chase) two-year old mark of 2:33.44.
 
SMCM’s junior Rachel Hotchko (Yakima, Wash./A.C. Davis) garnered a school record in the 200 fly as Hotchko captured the gold in 2:09.65, surpassing her year old mark of 2:10.16.
 
In the final event of the night, the Seahawks tallied a CAC meet, a conference, and a school record as well as an NCAA provisional cut in the 400 free relay as the foursome of McDowell, Hotchko, junior Dominique Perez (Rockville, Md./Holy Child), and Koerner posted a winning time of 3:31.78.
 
SEAHAWK HIGHLIGHTS
Senior captain Nat Schaefer (Newtown, Pa./Council Rock North) was the Seahawks’ top finisher in the 1650 free as Schaefer finished seventh in 18:49.39.  Junior Monika Disque (Annapolis, Md./Annapolis) was second in the consolation finals to place 10th overall with her time of 19:09.11.
 
Senior Eleanor Koerner (North Potomac, Md./T.S. Wootton) garnered third team all-conference honors in the 100 free as Koerner touched the pads in 53.36.
 
The Seahawks came in fourth, fifth, and sixth in the 200 breast with Pazouki leading the way with her record-setting fourth-place finish.  Sophomore Rosa Trembour (Takoma Park, Md./Albert Einstein) took fifth in 2:32.53, while sophomore Sofia Sokolove (Bethesda, Md./Bethesda-Chevy Chase) finished sixth in 2:33.66.
 
Freshman Katelyn Grue (Ellicott City, Md./Mount de Sales) was third in the consolation finals of the 200 breast in 2:41.71 to finish 11th overall.
 
Junior Anna Chiplis (Silver Spring, Md./Montgomery Blair) finished fifth in the 200 fly in 2:15.62, while freshman Katie Serfling (Frederick, Md./Urbana) placed second in the consolation finals in 2:28.07 for 10th overall.

Sea Gulls finish fourth overall, Ferrari wins second event
Salisbury University's Mike Ferrari capped a memorable weekend at the 2009 Capital Athletic Conference swimming championships at the Athletics and Recreation Center on the campus of St. Mary's (Md.) College with a second victory on Sunday evening. The junior defended his conference title in the 200-yard breaststroke as he won the event with a time of 2:13.24, three seconds ahead of the second place finisher. This is Ferrari's third All-CAC honor this weekend.

Salisbury's men's and women's team both finished fourth overall in the final team standings of the three-day conference championships. The SU men's team accumulated 422.5 points and finished behind University of Mary Washington (851.5), York (Pa.) College (683) and the host Seahawks from St. Mary's (470). Mary Washington won its ninth straight conference crown. The Sea Gull women's team tallied 388 points as they finished behind Mary Washington (904), St. Mary's (631) and Marymount (Va.) University (512). The Eagles from Mary Washington have never lost a CAC swim crown and celebrated its 19th straight on Sunday.

The Sea Gulls had two sophomores set school records on the final day of competition. Katy Turner broke the school record in the 200-yard butterfly during the preliminary trail as she clocked in at 2:15.57. She later broke the mark during the finals with a time of 2:15.49 as she finished fourth overall. Turner set a new school record in the 100-yard butterfly on Saturday. Drew Robichaud finished fourth in the 1,650-yard freestyle (17:11.18) but set a new SU record when he reached 1,000-yards in the race with a new time of 10:24.14.

Salisbury concluded the weekend with five All-CAC honors, two first-place finishes and five school records. This concludes the season for the Sea Gulls as the women's team posted a 7-4 record overall during the regular season while the men's team went 6-5.  

St. Mary’s (Md.) Men’s Team Notches Third-Place Finish at CACs
The University of Mary Washington men’s swim team captured the program’s 15th Capital Athletic Conference championship title and ninth straight Sunday night as the three-day 2009 CAC Men’s & Women’s Swimming Championships came to a close. 
 
UMW’s second-year head coach Matt Sellman was selected by his peers as the CAC Men’s Swim Coach-of-the-Year for the second-straight season.  Sophomore Stephen Clendenin (Ashburn, Va.) earned CAC Male Swimmer-of-the-Year honors after garnering rookie-of-the-year laurels in 2008, while sophomore Tyler Henderson (Purcellville, Va./Thomas Johnson) was named the CAC Rookie-of-the-Year.
 
Mary Washington won the title with 851.5 points as the Eagles captured 13 of 18 events.  As the championship meet host, St. Mary’s College of Maryland finished third in the team standings with 470 points.  This is the first time since the 1999 CAC Championships that the Seahawks have listed at the third spot and it is a two-spot improvement from last year’s fifth-place finish.
 
UMW’s sophomore Brad Dunn (Williamsburg, Va./Bruton) set a CAC meet and conference record as well as an NCAA ‘B’ cut in the 1650 free with his winning time of 16:18.32.
 
Clendenin set a CAC meet record in the 200 fly with an NCAA provisional time of 1:52.06.
 
St. Mary’s sophomore Jackson Webb (Leonardtown, Md./Leonardtown) registered a school record in the 200 fly as Webb finished fourth in 1:59.60, surpassing Chris Goodman’s mark of 1:59.74 set in 2004.
 
Henderson, Dunn, freshman Brian O’Donnell (Scotch Plains, N.J./Union Catholic), and junior Justin Anderson (Oak Hill, Va./Oakton) posted a CAC meet and conference record in the 400 free relay as the quarter captured the event in 3:07.58.
 
SEAHAWK HIGHLIGHTS
Senior captain Joey Quase (Montgomery Village, Md./Good Counsel) placed second in the consolation finals of the 1650 free in 17:46.62 to finish 10th overall.
 
Sophomore Gabe Grace (Baltimore, Md./Baltimore Polytech) took fifth in the 200 back in 2:03.78, while sophomore Nico Pinto (Lima, Peru) finished seventh in 2:05.17.  Freshman John Kitner (Great Mills, Md./Leonardtown) was third in the consolation finals in 2:10.55 to place 11th overall.
 
Senior Michael Preston (Pasadena, Md./Cardinal Gibbons) was sixth in the 100 free in 48.00.
 
Quase captured the consolation finals of the 200 breast in 2:21.18 to finish ninth overall in the event.
 
Freshman Joe Kelly (Ellicott City, Md./Mt. Hebron) took second in the consolation finals of 200 fly in 2:02.33 to finish 10th overall.
 
The Seahawks finished fourth in the 400 free relay as Preston, Grace, Kitner, and Webb swam a 3:17.41.