Virginia Continues to Lead after Second Day of ACC Championships
College Park, Md. , February 19th, 2009Virginia earned two individual titles during the second day of the 2009 ACC Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships on Thursday night. North Carolina, Virginia Tech and Miami tallied the other three individual titles awarded during the evening session at Maryland’s Eppley Recreation Center. Virginia leads the team race with 292 points over North Carolina in second with 220 and Virginia Tech in third with 172.
In the 500 free, the evening’s first event, North Carolina’s Ketura Harvey set a new ACC record in 4:39.12. All eight finalists earned NCAA “B” cut times in the event. Virginia Tech freshman Erika Narum finished second in 4:40.30 and Virginia’s Jen Narum took the bronze with a time of 4:40.64.
Virginia’s Megan Evo won the 200 IM with an ACC record breaking time of 1:56.17. Joining Evo on the podium was North Carolina’s Layne Brodie (1:57.68) and Virginia’s Katherine McDonnell (1:57.82). The top seven finishers earned NCAA consideration times.
Virginia Tech’s Sara Smith defended her 2008 gold medal in the 50 free with a winning time of 22.14 seconds. Her time in the finals failed to eclipse her ACC record time which she set in the prelims of 21.96 seconds. Clemson’s Rachel Regone earned silver (22.35) and North Carolina’s Rebecca Kane took bronze (22.41).
Miami swept the top two places in the 1-m diving event. Brittany Viola took first (341.85) and Jenna Dryer (333.70) took second place for the Hurricanes. Maryland’s Alisa Kurbatova also finished on the podium with a score of 333.05.
In the night’s final event, Virginia won the 200 free relay with another new league record. The Wahoos touched the wall in 1:29.33. Clemson took second (1:29.70) and Virginia Tech earned third place in 1:29.73. The top five relay teams all broke the previous league record which was set at last year’s league championship.
The ACC Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships will continue on Friday 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. For more information, please visit www.ACCSelect.com.
Team Scores (After 7 events):
1. Virginia 292
2. North Carolina 220
3. Virginia Tech 172
4. Florida State 137
5. Clemson 133
6. Maryland 127
7. Duke 118
8. Miami 90
9. NC State 64
10. Georgia Tech 57
11. Boston College 38
UNC Women in Second Place After Setting Three School Records Thursday
Sophomore Katura Harvey broke the Atlantic Coast Conference record in the 500-yard freestyle, a mark which had stood for 20 years, and freshman Layne Brodie and UNC’s 200-yard freestyle relay team established school records on the second night of swimming at the 2009 ACC Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships at the University of Maryland’s Eppley Recreation Center Pool.
The Tar Heels are in second place after two days of the championships with 220 points. Virginia leads with 292 points followed by UNC then Virginia Tech with 173, Florida State with 137, Clemson with 133, Maryland with 127, Duke with 118, Miami with 90, NC State with 64, Georgia Tech with 57 and Boston College with 38.
UNC’s Harvey won the ACC championship in the 500-yard freestyle, the third straight year a Tar Heel has won the event. Harvey’s time of 4:39.12 was an ACC record, ACC meet record and UNC school record as well as an NCAA “B” qualifying time. Harvey’s previous career best was 4:44.42. She broke the ACC record of 4:39.18 set by Mitzi Kremer of Clemson on March 19, 1989; the ACC meet record of Virginia’s Cara Lane of 4:42.35 set in 2002; and the UNC school record of 4:41.09 set by teammate Whitney Sprague in 2007. Sprague also had a championship finalist finish in the event as she took sixth place in 4:44.30, an NCAA “B” qualifying time.
Freshman Katelyn Martin was 11th in the 500 free in 4:47.21, a “B” time, and a career best (old best was 4:51.26). Her 4:47.21 moves her into fifth place all-time in Carolina history among the top performers in the event. Junior Ashley Howard placed 13th in 4:49.30, another NCAA “B” cut, and a career best (old best was 4:51.70).
UNC had five swimmers set career bests in the 200-yard individual medley. Freshman Layne Brodie broke the school record and placed second in the event with a time of 1:57.68, an NCAA “B” cut which shattered her previous career best of 2:01.31. She broke Erika Acuff’s school record of 1:59.57 which was established in 2001. Freshman Sarah Tanner finished seventh in 2:00.37. In the preliminaries Tanner went 1:59.68, a “B” cut, and a career best as well, bettering her own previous best of 2:01.83. Her 1:59.68 now has her fourth on the Tar Heel career chart.
Junior Alison Clemens, freshman Laura Moriarty and freshman Marie Pesecreta finished 12th, 13th and 18th, respectively, all posting career bests. They also moved into fifth, sixth and eighth place in that order on the UNC career all-time Top 10 in the 200 IM. Clemens went an NCAA “B” cut of 2:00.76 (previous best 2:01.51), Moriarty clocked a 2:00.91 (previous best 2:03.08) and Pesecreta went 2:01.84 (previous best 2:05.08).
Sophomore Rebecca Kane was the third place finisher in the 50-yard freestyle in 22.41, an NCAA “B” time, .36 of a second better than her previous career best. Her time moves her into second place all-time at UNC, just .01 of a second off RIchelle Fox’s school record of 22.40 set in 1998. Junior Megan Steeves was eighth overall in 22.88 (career best 22.70 in prelims, old mark 22.89) and she is now fifth on the school’s All-Time Top 10. Junior Eliza Butts placed 18th in 22.99, 0.19 ahead of her previous career best.
Freshman Jenna Moore led all UNC finishers in the one-meter diving with a score of 278.65 (281.90 prelims) to finish seventh while senior Erica Schiffler was 13th. Men’s diving is also held this weekend and in the three-meter event, UNC’s David Solarz, a junior, was fifth with 394 points, redshirt freshman David MacDonald was eighth with 348.55 points, and senior Alex Kenley was 13th.
UNC wrapped up the evening with a school record swim of 1:30.24 to finish fourth in the 200-yard freestyle relay. The top five relays all eclipsed the previous ACC record in the event. The relay included Kane (22.59), Steeves (22.42), Butts (22.61) and Tanner (22.62). The previous school record was 1:31.09 set by Kelsey Morrissy (23.13), Kane (22.46), Butts (22.75) and Steeves (22.75) in 2008.
The Championships continue Friday with prelims at 11 a.m. and finals at 7 pm.
VT Women's Swimming and Diving Remains In Third At ACCs
The Virginia Tech H2Okie women’s swimming and diving team concluded the second day of competition at the Atlantic Coast Conference Championships in College Park, Md, on Thursday. Tech raced in the 50 and 500 free and the 200 IM. The women divers took part in the 1-meter dive, while the relay team competed in the 200 free relay. The H2Okie men’s diving team also competed in the 3-meter event. Tech sits in third place with 172 points, while Virginia continues to lead at the championships with 292 points.
Senior Sara Smith topped her previous ACC best time in the 50 free of 22.18. The McGaheysville, Va., native rewrote the H2Okie record book and set a new ACC standard, touching in at 21.96 in the preliminary race. The senior captured the 50 free title and 20 points for Tech after edging the competition by .21 seconds. Fellow senior Jordan McHorney scored seven additional points, coming in 10th and finishing the race in 22.88.
Meanwhile, freshman Erika Hajnal shattered a previous Tech-best time in the 500 free, after crossing the finish line in 4:40.30, while coming in second place for Tech. The freshman bettered her preliminary time by 1.20 seconds and claimed 17 points in the process.
In the same race, junior Kelly deMarrais and sophomore Lauren Ritter combined to add an additional 16 team points to the H2Okies score. In the consolation finals, the former crossed the finish line in 4:45.99, while the latter posted a 4:47.11 showing.
The team of Smith, McHorney and fellow senior Megan Newell, along with sophomore Steffi Drechsel scored 32 points and a third-place finish in the 200 free relay. The squad broke an H2Okie record in the event, finishing the race in 1:29.73.
In men’s diving, junior Mikey McDonald scored a fourth-place finish in the 3-meter dive. McDonald posted a score of 407.15 in preliminary action, while following with a 403.90 score in the finals.
Tomorrow the H2Okies will take part in the third day of action. Tech will race in the 400 IM, 100 fly, 200 free, 100 breaststroke and 100 back. The women divers will compete in the 3-meter event, while the men will look to score in the 1-meter dive. Preliminary action begins at 11 a.m., with the finals taking place at 7 p.m.
Horner Shatters School Record, Frebel Breaks 400 For First Time As More Records Fall At The ACC Championships
It was a record breaking evening in College Park, Md., as Terry Horner broke the school record on the three-meter board and the Seminoles 200 free relay set a new school record at the 2009 ACC Swimming and Diving Championships. The Florida State women are in fourth-place with 137 points.
"We know that tomorrow can be a really good day for us," FSU head coach Neil Harper said. "We are excited to get to some of our best events and we ended the evening on a high note with our 200 free relay."
The Seminole men highlighted the evening on the three-meter board placing three in the top eight led by junior Terry Horner. Horner demolished his school record by more than 25 points scoring 447.95 to take home second place. Senior Dan Frebel also had a personal best score breaking 400 for the first time in his career as he placed third (406.95). Senior Scott Derner finished sixth for FSU with a six dive total of 366.75.
"I'm very proud of all my kids today especially Terry and Dan," FSU diving coach Patrick Jeffrey said. "They did a lot of incredibly hard dives and Reuben [the event winner] is an Olympian and it was fun to go after him. We still have two more events and I think we have a chance to beat him."
In the first swimming event of the evening sophomores Holly Mills and Jocelyn Phillips placed 14th and 15th respectively in the 500 free. Mills touched the wall in her personal best time of 4:49.72 and Phillips finished in 4:49.99.
"The girls who swam the 500 were excellent," Harper said. "I thought they did a nice job and I'm really proud of the girls."
A pair of freshman headlined the 200 individual medley. Jessica Sabotin placed 10th with a personal best and NCAA provisional time of 1:59.91 and Stephanie Sarandos finished 14th in 2:01.43.
"Jessica had a great individual medley and I'm excited for her," Harper said. "She is only the second Seminole to break the two minute mark in that event."
In the 50 free sophomore Brittany Selts touched the wall in 23.00 which was good enough for 12th-place while junior Shanda Casella finished 13th in 23.11.
The women's divers competed on the one-meter board and were led by junior Katie Sirounis who placed fourth with a career best score of 303.60. Junior Aleia Monden placed 9th and freshman Lisi Rowland finished 16th.
The 200 free relay finished the evening and the team of Steinhauer, Casella, Selts and sophomore C.J. Hendry placed fifth with a school record and NCAA provisional time of 1:30.33. FSU was one of five teams to break the old conference record in the event. Steinhauer also led-off the relay with a personal best time in the 50 free of 22.97.
"We ended the night on a relay that broke the school record which is an amazing feat," Harper said. "The team came together well and to see Stevi break 23 for the first time was great."
Day three of the Championships begin at 11:00 a.m., with the finals starting at 7:00 p.m. The Seminoles will compete in five individual events and the divers compete on the one-meter (men) and three-meter (women). For live stats and a link to ACC Select to watch all the action log onto www.seminoles.com.
Clemson Swimming and Diving Moves Up on Second Day At ACC Championships
The Clemson women's swimming and diving team moved up to fifth place after night two of finals at the 2009 ACC Championships at Eppley Recreation Center Natatorium in College Park, Md. The Tigers competed in four events: the 500 free, 200 IM, 50 free, and 200 free relay. Diving competition also began today with the women's one meter and men's three meter.
Senior Cassy LaRussa began the night for Clemson in the final heat of the 500 free. While she was out with the pack for most of the race, LaRussa placed eighth in the event with a time of 4:46.82, another NCAA-B cut, less than a second off her time from the morning session. LaRussa remains fourth on Clemson's all-time top ten. Teammates Summer O'Donnell and Rachel Hesler also earned a second swim in the 500 free bonus consolation finals. O'Donnell took 20th overall with Hesler placing 24th.
University of North Carolina swimmer Katura Harvey had a record breaking night, winning the 500 yard freestyle and breaking the 20 year old record held by Clemson Olympian Mitzi Kremer. Harvey's time of 4:39.12 broke Kremer's record by just six one-hundredths of a second.
The 200 IM was next on the agenda for the evening, with junior Katrina Obas in the bonus consolation finals. Obas improved her time from the morning session and moved up to 20th with a time of 2:03.20.
In the 50 free, Clemson boasted two swimmers in finals and one in bonus consolation finals. Senior sprint duo Rachel Regone and Lauren Sindall had a solid showing for the Tigers with Regone holding her position from the prelim session to take a silver medal at 22.35 after setting a school record in the preliminary session. Sindall placed 7th with a time of 22.82. Teammate Alex Allen moved up in bonus consolation finals, taking 17th overall with a personal best time of 22.98. This time puts Allen in third place on Clemson's all-time top ten.
In the final event of the evening, the 200 free relay, the Tiger team of Regone, Sindall, Allen, and Michelle Parkhurst looked to defend their title for the third year. Regone had the lead after the first 50, lowering her school record to 22.25. Sindall dove in next, neck and neck with the University of Virginia and Virginia Tech. Allen followed, splitting 22.35 in the process. Parkhurst anchored and surged for the wall. The Tigers finished second to the Virginia Cavaliers by four tenths, but out-touched Virginia Tech by only three one-hundredths of a second. Their time of 1:29.70 is a new school record and just off the NCAA-A cut by a little over a second.
On the boards, a pair of Tiger freshmen earned valuable experience on the one-meter event. Cassie Self and Brooke George each earned top-20 finishes in the one-meter event, with Self scoring in her first career ACC action.
Three More Duke Records Go Down At ACC Championships
Freshman Steffi Niessl tied the school record in the 50 freestyle in her leadoff split of the women’s 200 free relay, sophomore Ashley Twichell broke the Duke record in the 500 free, and the Blue Devils broke the 200 free relay record during day two of the 2009 Women’s Swimming & Diving ACC Championships Thursday. The meet is being held at the University of Maryland’s Eppley Recreation Center in College Park, Md.
Duke remains in seventh place of the 11 ACC teams after day two, with two days of competition remaining. Duke has a team score of 118. Defending champions Virginia stayed in the lead after day two.
“For our first full day of swimming with preliminaries and finals, the team did extremely well and raced hard,” said head coach Dan Colella. “We scored a good number of points today on a day that actually had the least potential scoring for us. The next couple days will give us a bigger chance to score and move up in the conference scoring.”
Niessl’s split of 23.45 tied the record set last year in the event, as she kicked-started the Blue Devil 200 free relay that would go on to break the Duke record in that event. Duke came through in a seventh-place time of 1:31.96 to break last year’s record by over a second, with Niessl leading Kirstie Jeffrey, Meredith Bannon, and Shannon Beall.
Twichell then broke the 500 freestyle record, which she set herself last season, coming in seventh in a Duke-best 4:44.56. Distance teammates Jackie Fasano and Rose O’Connor also advanced to tonight’s finals in the 500. O’Connor’s 4:52.82 was a five-second season best.
Beall competed in the consolation finals of the 200 IM, taking 11th overall in 2:00.61, nearly a three-second season- and personal-best swim for the junior.
Competition resumes tomorrow morning with day three preliminaries, and finals to begin at 7 p.m.
Miami Divers Sweep Events on Second Day at ACC’s
Juniors Reuben Ross (men’s) and Brittany Viola (women’s), defending NCAA Champions apiece, swept the 1-meter and 3-meter springboard diving events Thursday inside the Eppley Recreation Center Natatorium in College Park, Md. Ross won the 3-meter event, while Viola collected the 1-meter title.
Ross, a native of Regina, Saskatchewan (Canada), picked up a score of 474.30 over the course of the finals in the 3-meter springboard walking away with this year’s ACC crown. FSU’s Terry Horner (447.95) placed second, with fellow Seminole Dan Frebel (406.95) coming in third.
The last 3-meter ACC crown for Ross came during his freshman year (2006-07).
Meanwhile, Brittany Viola bounced back from a fourth place position after the preliminaries to collect top honors on the women’s 1-meter springboard. Viola netted a score of 341.85 to finish ahead of teammate and two-time All-American senior Jenna Dreyer who was in second (333.70).
Viola, a native of Orlando, Fla., completes the first leg of her quest for back-to-back sweeps having won all three diving events a year ago at the ACC Championships.
Over in the swimming lanes, the UM team continued their assault on personal and season-best performances as sophomore Ryann Labreche toted a time of 4:50.91 – a new career-best performance, after the finals of the 500 freestyle. The Fort Myers product finished just one (1) second over qualifying with a ‘B’ cut for the NCAA Championships.
Teammate Deidre Novotny collected a personal-best time of 2:03.60 in the 200 individual medley, finishing 16th overall, and posting a season second-best performance for the Orange and Green in that event. She shattered her original time of 2:08.10 set over a year ago during the 2007-08 campaign by almost five seconds. Teammate and senior Britta Boesing posted a time of 2:02.95 in the finals, but set a season-best time of 2:02.38 during the preliminaries.
Junior Kirsten Pomerleau tied her previous career-best time of 23.51 in the 50 freestyle after posting a new career-low time of 23.44 seconds in the prelims. Pomerleau’s times were both season-best marks for the Hurricanes, downing Annika Saarnak’s time of 23.71 set in the prelims of the Ohio State Invitational.
The UM 200 yard freestyle relay team collected a season-best time of 1:33.54 with the help of Saarnak (leadoff), Lauren Jacoby (second leg), Lizzi Torres (third leg) and Pomerleau (anchor). The quarter downed their previous-best mark of 1:35.79, while also finishing just 00.13 seconds out of a share of another school record at Miami.
The Hurricanes have jumped from 10th up to eighth place in this year’s event with 90 points, and trail Duke by just 28 points.
The action continues tomorrow with a series of preliminaries and finals set throughout the course of the day.
Tomorrow’s action, as well as the remaining three days of the event, will be streamed live over the internet via ACC Select by visiting www.accselect.com. You can find more information on the entire event by visiting www.theacc.com.
Two Records Fall, Freestyle Corps Shines at ACC’s
NC State got new school records in the 200 IM and 200 freestyle relay, and three Wolfpack swimmers posted the third, fourth and fifth-fastest times in NC State history in the 50 freestyle as action continued at the ACC Championships on Thursday, Feb. 19.
“It’s exciting to see the women continue to swim fast and set new school records,” said head coach Brooks Teal. “Anna knocked a huge chunk off of the 200 IM school record, and the 200 freestyle relay fell by nearly three whole seconds. It’s amazing to see their hard work pay off with these fast swims.
“Most of our swimmers still have their best potential for fast swims and placements ahead of them in the next two days, so we continue to be very excited about what is to come at these championships.”
Patrice Dason, Ashley Richter, Meg Thompson and Lucy Lindsey’s 132.87 in the 200 freestyle relay improves upon the old school standard of 1:35.13. Karen Cone, Dawn Deluca, Mary Mittendorf and Andrea Hastings set that mark in 2001.
Anna Linkenauger swam a 2:01.94 in the 200 IM prelims, blowing past Mittendorf’s school record of 2:03.74 from 2001. Linkenauger then placed 15th in the finals on a 2:02.30. Jen Kopenitz posted the second fastest time on the team this season in the prelims with a 2:04.28, while Jessica McBroom (2:06.63) and Jessica Stewart (2:12.60) also competed.
Richter improved on a 23.48 prelim time with a 23.39 for 22nd overall in the 50 freestyle finals, marking the fastest time on the team this season and the third quickest in school history. Lindsey (23.51) and
Thompson (23.52) also had strong outings in the prelims, posting the fourth and fifth times in school history respectively. Erica Smith also offered a 24.08.
Brianna Grover’s 52.00 in a 100 freestyle time trail marked the second fastest swim in the event on the team this year.
Taryn Shelley (4:57.66), Sarah Merritt (5:03.22), Maresa Like-Mathews (5:06.25) and Maggie McEnerney (5:07.56) all took part in the 500 freestyle prelims, with Shelley and Merritt’s times clocking in as the fastest and third best on the roster during the season.
On the diving board, Chelsea Ale (240.00) and Kristin Davies (232.85) participated in the 1-meter dive, while Austin Hampton (326.75), Scott Blackwelder (260.90) and Alex Dambly (254.30) took park in the men’s 3-meter boards.
Action will continue at the ACC Championship’s tomorrow, Friday, Feb. 20. Prelims begin at 11 a.m., with finals starting at 7 p.m.
WOMEN’S SWIMMING SETS TWO MORE SCHOOL RECORDS ON DAY 2 OF ACC CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Georgia Tech women’s swimming and diving team set two more school records and is now in 10th place after day two of the ACC Championships Thursday night on the campus of the University of Maryland.
Brittany Gobat shattered a school record in the 200-IM, while the 200-free relay also set a school record finishing in a time of 1:33.16, good for ninth place. Gobat’s time of 2:01.82 placed her 17th and broke a record that has stood since 2003.
Sarah Broadley advanced to the finals of the 500-free and finished 23rd with a time of 4:57.67. In the 50-free, Agatha Kwasnik placed 15th with a mark of 23.21. Both Kwasnik and Broadley recorded faster times in the morning’s prelims session and they were both career highs as well. In the women’s one-meter diving event, Hannah Krimm placed fifth with a score of 288.90.
“Brittany [Gobat] demolished the school record that was set back in 2003,” head coach Stu Wilson said. “It was a great swim and the team did a fantastic job fighting back with 75 percent of the swims today being lifetime bests. Tomorrow should be great day for us.”
Virginia leads the team race with 292 points over North Carolina in second with 220 and Virginia Tech in third with 172.
In the 500-free, Sarah Broadley qualified for the evening’s final session as she placed 24th in prelims with a career-high time of 4:55.55. Also swimming well for the Yellow Jackets were Katie Bond (5:00.15), Jing Li (5:04.36) and Hen Pauker (5:15.68). They finished 32nd, 34th and 38th, respectively.
In the 200 IM, Brittany Gobat set a school record as she placed 23rd with a time of 2:03.22. Ryann Kopacka set a career-high with a time of 2:05.46, good for 33rd place. Jordan Evans finished right behind Kopacka in 34th with a mark of 2:05.63.
The 50-free saw Agatha Kwasnik just miss her own school record by .04 seconds during prelims. She touched the wall in 22.92, which was good for 10th place and a spot in the “B” finals. Christine Chuang (23.63), Heidi Hatteberg (23.69), Keren Siebner (23.80), Taylor Flynn (23.88), Katherine Locker (24.07) and Erin O’Donnell (24.38) all set new career-highs while finishing between 30th and 49th place. Also recording solid swims for the Yellow Jackets in the 50-free were Jessie Mason (23.72) and Lisa Pucci (24.22). They finished 33rd and 45th, respectively.
The ACC Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships run through Saturday, Feb. 21, on the campus of the University of Maryland. Free live streaming video is available through ACC Select.
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.
