Virginia Takes Lead After Two Events At ACC Women’s Championships

Virginia opened the 2009 ACC Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships by breaking ACC records in the 200 medley relay and 800 free relays on Wednesday night at Maryland’s Eppley Recreation Center Natatorium.  With two events in the books, Virginia leads the way with 80 points followed by North Carolina (66), Florida State (60) and Virginia Tech (60).
 
The evening started with the 200 medley relay where Virginia set a new conference record and secured an NCAA “A” cut in a time of 1:37.50.  Virginia Tech clocked in for second place in 1:38.56, also besting the previous league record and posting an NCAA “B” cut time.  Earning the bronze medal was North Carolina with an NCAA “B” mark of 1:38.99.  Four other schools, Maryland, Florida State, Clemson and Duke, posted NCAA consideration times in the event.
 
The final event of Wednesday evening was the 800 free relay where Virginia shattered the ACC record.  The Cavaliers clocked in at 7:05.72, topping the previous record by over a second and a half.  Overall, the top six teams earned NCAA “B” cut times.  Finishing second was North Carolina in 7:08.07.  Florida State came in third with a time of 7:10.42.
 
The ACC Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships will continue on Thursday with a full day of action.  Preliminary rounds begin at 11 a.m., followed by men’s diving finals starting at 5:30 p.m.  The women’s swimming finals start at 7 p.m.  Live video streaming of the finals will start at 5:30 p.m. on ACC Select. 
 
Team Scores (After 2 events):
1.    Virginia                           80
2.    North Carolina                 66
3.    Florida State                   60
        Virginia Tech                 60
5.    Maryland                        58
6.    Clemson                         56
7.    Duke                              46
8.    NC State                        40
9.    Miami                             38
10.  Boston College                26
11.  Georgia Tech                   18

UVa off to Record-Setting Start at ACC Championships
The Virginia women’s swimming and diving team commenced the 2009 Atlantic Coast Conference Championships Wednesday in record-setting fashion, smashing the conference, school and meet record in the first two events of the meet, the 200 medley and 800 freestyle relays. The championships, which run through Saturday, are being held at Maryland’s Eppley Recreation Natatorium.

The team of Mei Christensen, Katherine McDonnell, Liz Shaw and Kristen Wallace completed the 200 medley relay in 1:37.50 – an NCAA automatic qualifying standard. The conference and meet record of 1:38.59 was previously held by Florida State (set in 2006) while the school record was set a year ago when Christensen, McDonnell, Stephanie Glover and Hannah Davis clocked a time of 1:40.19 at the conference meet.

“It’s the kind of start we hoped for – especially in the first event,” Virginia head coach Mark Bernardino said. “To start off and make an NCAA A cut in the 200 medley relay and take the pressure off right out of the shoot, you couldn’t have asked for a better start.”

Six schools tallied NCAA B times in the 200 medley relay. Virginia Tech (Jordan McHorney, Jessica Earl, Megan Newell and Sara Smith) finished second with a time of 1:38.56 while North Carolina (Kim Davis, Layne Brodie, Sarah Tanner and Aliza Butts) finished third in 1:38.99.

“We were so fired up and so ready; we wanted to get these suits on and show people what we could do,” Wallace said. “I don’t think we expected to go that fast. Last year we got beat in the medley so it was great to come back and get some revenge.”

Megan Evo, Shaw, Wallace and Jenna Harris teamed up to take first-place honors in the 800 freestyle relay, again setting a conference, school and meet record. Virginia finished with another NCAA A time of 7:05.72, breaking the ACC and school record set by UVa’s Stephanie Glover, Evo, Harris and Jessica Lewis at the 2008 NCAA Championships.

Evo’s split of 1:45.27 was also good enough for a Virginia school record in the 200 freestyle.

UNC (Megan Steeves, Rebecca Kane, Butts, Katura Harvey) placed second in the 800 free relay with a mark of 7:08.07 while Florida State (Jocelyn Phillips, Georgia Holderness, Stephanie Sarandos, Holly Mills) was third in 7:10.42.

“The 800 free relay did a respectable job,” Bernardino continued. “Megan Evo’s leadoff leg was just beautiful. Now we have to maintain our equilibrium, get a good night’s rest and tomorrow morning is a really important for us. The 500 free and 200 individual medley are two of our strongest events on paper. We have to come out and live up to what we are supposed to do in those races.”

Day two of the ACC Championships continues Thursday with preliminaries scheduled for 11 a.m. ACC Select will provide live video streaming of the championships starting Thursday at 5:15 p.m. There is no charge to watch the webcasts. ACC Select coverage will continue Friday at 5:15 p.m. and Saturday at 7 p.m.

Tar Heel Women Shatter Two School Marks On First Night Of ACCs
North Carolina’s women’s swimming and diving team is in second place at the end of the first night of the 2009 Atlantic Coast Conference Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships at the University of Maryland’s Eppley Recreation Center Natatorium after shattering a pair of school relay records in startling fashion.
 
Carolina shaved almost two full seconds off the school record in the 200-yard medley relay while finishing third in the event. The UNC relay went 1:38.99, an NCAA “B” qualifying time.  Relay members included senior Kimmy Davis (25.53), freshman Layne Brodie (27.35), freshman Sarah Tanner (23.98) and junior Eliza Butts (22.13).
 
The old school record was 1:40.82 set in 2001 by Christy Watkins (25.57), Katie Hathaway (28.20), Summer Mack (24.61) and Erika Acuff (22.44).
 
Carolina took second place in the 800-yard freestyle relay in an NCAA “B” qualifying time of 7:08.07, better than five seconds faster than the previous school record.  Junior Megan Steeves led off the relay in 1:48.08, her personal best in the 200-yard freestyle which also made her the sixth fastest individual in school history at the 200 distance.  The rest of the record-eradicating unit included sophomore Rebecca Kane (1:46.99), junior Eliza Butts (1:47.90) and sophomore Katura Harvey (1:45.10).
 
The old mark was 7:13.33 set in 2004 by Virginia Hanson (1:48.97), Kelly Weeks (1:48.85), Amanda Smith (1:48.55) and Jessi Perruquet (1:46.96).
 
Defending champion Virginia leads after the first day with 80 points while UNC is second with 66.  Florida State and Virginia Tech are tied for third with 60 followed by Maryland with 58, Clemson with 56, Duke with 46, NC State with 40, Miami with 38, Boston College with 26 and Georgia Tech with 18.
 
The second day of competition is Thursday with prelims at 11 and finals at 7.

Florida State Swimmers Break Two School Records On First Day Of ACC Swimming And Diving Championships
The Florida State women’s swimming and diving team started the 2009 ACC Championships on a strong note breaking two school records and earning three NCAA provisional qualifying times.  FSU is tied for third with 60 points.

“This is going to be a fast week hopefully for us as well as the conference,” FSU head coach Neil Harper said.  “We improved our position in both relays which helps us get off on a good note and gets us fired up for tomorrow.”

The Seminoles opened the meet with a third-place performance in the 800 free relay with a school record breaking time of 7:10.42.  Sophomore Jocelyn Phillips led-off the relay with a school record and NCAA provisional time in the 200 free touching in 1:47.11.  Senior Georgia Holderness, freshman Stephanie Sarandos and sophomore Holly Mills finished the third-place relay strong.

“Jocelyn led off with a school record and I think she can go faster in her individual race,” Harper said.  “Then the other three girls came on strong and just swam incredibly well and I’m excited for them setting a new school record.”

In the 200 medley relay the team of junior Shanda Casella, Holderness, sophomore C.J. Hendry and junior Stevi Steinhauer earned a NCAA provisional time of 1:39.91 in their fifth-place performance.

The Seminoles will begin competing in individual events on Thursday with preliminaries beginning at 11:00 a.m., and finals at 7:00 p.m.  The divers will also compete in their first event of the Championships as the men start on the three-meter and the women on the one-meter.  For live stats and a link to ACC Select to watch all the action log onto www.seminoles.com.

Virginia Tech Women’s Swimming and Diving Day One ACC
The Virginia Tech H2Okies competed in the first day of competition at the Atlantic Coast Conference Championships in College Park, Md. In the first day of action, Tech raced in the 200 medley relay and the 800 free relay. The H2Okies currently are tied with Florida State in third place and scored 60 team points. Virginia leads after day one with 80 points.

The team of seniors Jordan McHorney, Megan Newell and Sara Smith, along with junior Jessica Earl captured a second-place finish in the 200 medley relay and 34 team points. The Tech squad touched in at 1:38.56 in the event to break the H2Okie team record by .32 seconds. Virginia won the race with a time of 1:37.50, to claim 40 team points and an early lead at the championships.

In the 800 free relay, another H2Okie record was broken. Junior Kelly deMarrais, sophomore Lauren Ritter and freshmen Erika Hajnal and Jace Howanitz completed the race in 7:15.10, destroying the previous record set in 2007, by nearly seven seconds.

Tomorrow the H2Okies will race in the 50 and 500 free, along with the 200 IM. The divers will compete in 1-meter action, with the relay team competing in the 200 free relay event. Additionally, the H2Okie men’s diving team will take part in 3-meter action. Preliminary action begins at 11 a.m. with the finals taking place at 7 p.m.

Terp Women Boast Solid Start in ACC Championships
Maryland kicked off the 2009 ACC Swimming and Diving Championships in high gear, registering a school-record 1:39.76 in the 200-yard medley relay en route to a fourth-place finish Wednesday evening at the Eppley Recreation Center Natatorium.

The relay team of Annie Fittin, Nina Rossi, Jen Vogel and Yelena Skalinskaya tallied Maryland's first NCAA B-cut relay time of the season.

"It was a great way to start the meet," head coach Sean Schimmel said. "Annie's split really set us up for a good race and I think all four of them had the best splits of their lives."

The 800-yard free relay team of Ginny Glover, Laura Wright, Vogel and Rossi narrowly missed a school record, touching the wall at 7:14.56 for a fifth-place finish and an NCAA B-cut time.

"I couldn't be happier with how we set ourselves up for the next few days," Schimmel said.

Virginia swept both events, notching a pair of ACC records, and lead the way heading into day two with 80 points. Maryland is currently fifth with 58 points.

Women's Swimming Takes Down Two School Records at ACC Championships
The Clemson women's swimming and diving team got competition underway Wednesday at the 2009 ACC Swimming and Diving Championships at Eppley Recreation Center Natatorium in College Park, Md. The Tigers finished the first day in sixth place, which consisted of the 200 medley relay and 800 free relay, but set school records in each of the two races.

The Championships started at 6:00 p.m. with the 200 medley relay, where Kelli Kyle, Katrina Obas, Maddie Tarantolo, and Rachel Regone took sixth, notching a school- record and NCAA-B 1:40.01.

Kyle had the Tigers out quickly in third with a 25.19 on the backstroke leg of the race. Obas continued with the breaststroke before giving way to another freshman, Tarantolo, on the butterfly portion. Regone, a senior, took the tigers home with the second-fastest freestyle split to put the Tigers into sixth overall with a 1:40.01.

The time bettered the previous school record of 1:40.76 by three-quarters of a second, which was set in 2002 by Lindsey Kroeger, Mandy Commons, Elise Thieler, and Jenna Burtch.

After a short break, the Tigers returned for the 800 free relay. The all-senior relay team of Michelle Parkhurst, Cassy LaRussa, Summer O'Donnell, and Regone finished fourth with a time of 7:12.08. The Tigers broke another school record, this time by over six seconds. This marks the second school record to fall in Maryland and a second NCAA-B cut for the Tigers.

Parkhurst set a blistering pace with her opening time of 1:45.47. LaRussa took off on the second leg and handed things off to fellow distance swimmer O'Donnell. Both ladies split under the 1:50 mark with Regone anchoring. Regone, swimming her second event of the night, closed things out for the Tigers with a fourth place finish overall.

The 800 free relay of Kemmerling, Hayden, Kremer, Kueny held the previous record of 7:18.32 set in 1986.

The Tigers finished the night with 56 points, only 10 off of second place. Virginia took the win in both events and leads with 80 points overall.

Two School Records Fall At First Day Of ACC Championships
The Duke women's swimming and diving team set a pair of Duke school records Wednesday evening during day one of competition at the 2009 ACC Swimming & Diving Championships at the University Of Maryland's Eppley Recreation Center in College Park, Md.

The Blue Devils set school records in the day's only two events - the 200 medley relay and the 800 freestyle relay.

The 200 medley team of Meghan Dwyer, Meredith Bannon, Steffi Niessl, and Shannon Beall took seventh overall in a Duke record 1:40.63. The previous record was 1:42.98, set last season, while tonight's performance was the fastest of the 2008-09 season by nearly three seconds.

In the 800 free relay later on, the team of Jackie Fasano, Ashley Twichell, Dwyer, and Katie Magee placed eighth in a record 7:22.49, a six-second season best time and breaking the five-year-old Duke mark by a full two seconds.

With three days remaining at ACCs, the Blue Devil women sit in seventh of the 11 schools with a team score of 46. Virginia - sitting in first place after day one - set ACC records in both events.

Day two tomorrow kicks off with the prelims at 11 a.m., with the finals set to begin at 7 p.m. in the pool and the divers to go at 1 p.m., 3:15, and 5:15. The swimming events for Thursday include the 500 free, 200 IM, 50 free, and 200 free relay.

School Records Fall as Women’s Swimming Begins ACC’s
Two school records were smashed by new times as the NC State women’s swimming team hit the pool for a thrilling first day of action at the ACC Championships on Wednesday, Feb. 18. New benchmarks were established in both events that were held on the day, the 200 medley relay and the 800 freestyle relay.

“Any time you start a meet with two new school records you know that your team is ready to go,” said head coach Brooks Teal. “It’s fun to start with two relays and swim fast. The girls are swimming fast and competing with great confidence and intensity. We had some amazing splits on both relays, and we are really excited about what the next few days may hold for us.”

Erica Smith, Anna Linkenauger, Patrice Dason and Ashley Richter got things started with a 142.08 in the 200 medley relay, topping a 28-year old school record. The previous best, 1:43.80, was set in 1981 by Patti Pippin, Patty Waters, Beth Harrell and Debby Campbell.

Dason (24.15) and Richter (22.84) swam incredible splits to help clinch the record-setting occasion after Smith (25.79) and Linkenauger (29.30) paved the way with a solid start.

Linkenauger, Lucy Lindsey, Richter and Jen Kopenitz kept things going by setting another milestone in the 800 freestyle relay with a 723.95. That improves upon the previous hallmark of 7:24.66 set in 1982 by Amy Lepping, Kelly Parker, Doreen Kase and Beth Emery.

Lindsey led the way in the 800 freestyle relay with an astonishing 1:48.81 split during the second leg of the race. Strong showings from Richter (1:51.07), Kopenitz (1:51.57) and Smith (1:52.50) were equally important.

State’s relays placed eighth overall in the 200 medley relay, and ninth overall in the 800 freestyle relay.

The Pack stands in eighth-place with 40 total points following the first day of competition. Action will resume tomorrow, Thursday, Feb. 19, with prelims beginning at 11 a.m.

Miami Swimmers Enjoy School-Record Day at ACC’s
The 800 freestyle relay and 200 medley relay squads both set new school records on Wednesday evening as the University of Miami wrapped up day one at the Atlantic Coast Conference Swimming & Diving Championships inside the Eppley Recreation Center Natatorium in College Park, Md.  This year’s event is being held at the University of Maryland.
 
“I’m just extremely proud of how we performed as a team today, and words can’t describe how I feel right now.  I’m just so excited for the rest of the Championships.”
 
The Hurricanes’ 200 medley relay team led off the day with a school-record performance of 1:42.95 as the team of Britta Boesing (leadoff), Dana Hatic (second leg), Deidre Novotny (third leg) and Kirsten Pomerleau (anchor) hit the water with a passion.  Their time established a new UM mark that becomes the second school record in this event under the guise of Shefchunas.
 
Miami had a previous-best of 1:43.61 set back in 2006 by the team of Ashley Knapp, Magda Waszkiewicz, Andrea Hughes and Christine Zwiegers.  The previous season-best mark for the 2008-09 campaign was a time of 1:45.26 established by the squad of Boesing, Dana Hatic, Annika Saarnak and Lauren Jacoby at the Ohio State Invitational (Dec. 5-7) in Columbus, Ohio.
 
Though finishing 10th overall in the event—Virginia took the top time of a new ACC record 1:37.50 -  Miami’s enthusiasm level was set heading into the 800 freestyle relay moments later.
 
“That team [200 medley relay] showed that we really have worked hard this year, and I know it gave the free relay team confidence,” continued Shefchunas.  “I think the team just fed off that energy, and the other girls were just ready to hit the water right then.  It was just great to see.”
 
In the 800 free relay, Shefchunas elected to go with the team of Saarnak, Jacoby, Ryann Labreche and Boesing.  In this race, there was not just one NCAA ‘B’ qualification, but in a total of two—one for an individual.
 
With Saarnak serving as leadoff, her time of 1:47.22—the time counting individually in the 200 freestyle, was a ‘B’ cut qualification and a personal-best time for the Estonia native.
 
The team was right behind Saarnak as together they posted a school-record mark of 7:16.62, smashing the old mark of 7:20.46—a time that had stood firm since the 1993 season.  That record was posted by Stacey Staver, Julia Williams, Kim Small and Dena Champney.  All three were named All-America performers for the 1991 season competing in the 800 free relay.
 
“Annika started it off for us, and the team went from there,” expressed Shefchunas.  “It was her great start that set us up, and I’m so proud of her and the other girls for being determined and finishing it off.”
 
The winning time for the event was 7:05.72, a new ACC-best mark set forth by Virginia.  UM finished seventh overall for the event.
 
The action for the four-day ACC Championships continues tomorrow with the women’s 500 freestyle (prelims), women’s 200 individual medley (prelims), women’s 50 freestyle (prelims), men’s 3-meter springboard diving (prelims) and women’s 1-meter springboard diving.

Boston Cololege Relay Teams Break School Records at ACC Championships
The Boston College women's swimming and diving team broke two school relay records on the first day of competition at the ACC Championships in College Park, Md.

Katie Fritsch, Micheala Morr, MacKenzie Campbell, and Lia Breunig set a new mark in the 200 medley relay (1:46.26), breaking the previous record of 1:46.52 set by Tanya Suryoutomo ('08), Carolyn Bowman ('07), Liz Byron ('06), and Libby Snyder ('08) at the 2005 Big East Championships.

Later on in the evening, Caroline Byron, Kelly Leahey, Aydan Sarikaya, and Lauren Nightengale would shatter another school record with their time in the 800 freestyle relay (7:34.94). The previous mark (7:36.14) was set at the 2008 ACC Championships by Bryon, Leahey, Caryn Switaj, and Mari Wunchel ('08).

The team will continue competition at the Eppley Recreation Center Natatorium today in the 500 yard freestyle, the 200 yard individual medley, the 50 yard freestyle, one meter diving, and the 200 yard freestyle relay.

WOMEN’S SWIMMING SETS SCHOOL RECORD ON DAY 1 OF ACC CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Georgia Tech swimming team is in 11th place after day one of the ACC Championships held Wednesday night at the Eppley Recreation Center on the campus of the University of Maryland. Tech set a school record in the 200-medley relay, but was disqualified in the 800-free relay for a stroke infraction. There were just two events on opening night.
 
“The night started great with another school record, but then we had a tough break,” head coach Stu Wilson said. It [the disqualification] was an unfortunate circumstance, but this is why we have four-day meets. The ladies need to put this behind them and fight back. Tomorrow is another day and I am looking for some strong swims”
 
The evening began with a school record as the 200-medley relay team of Jessie Mason, Lisa Pucci, Christine Chuang and Keren Siebner finished in a time of 1:42.64, good for ninth place. That was about a half-second better than the previous record set earlier this season at the U.S. Short Course Nationals.
 
In the second and final event of the night, the 800-free relay, the Jackets were disqualified for a stroke violation.
 
The ACC Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships run through Saturday, Feb. 21, on the campus of the University of Maryland. Thursday’s full day of competition includes the 500-free, 200 IM, 50-free, men’s three-meter diving, women’s one-meter diving and the 200-free relay.
 
Friday’s action features the 400-IM, 100-fly, 200-free, 100-breast, 100-back, men’s one-meter diving, women’s three-meter diving and the 400-medley relay. The championship concludes Saturday with the 200-back, 100-free, 200-breast, 200-fly, 400-free relay and both men’s and women’s diving. Preliminaries begin each day at 11:00 a.m., while the finals will take place at 7:00 p.m. each night.
 
The men’s championships will be next weekend, also in College Park, Md.