University of Delaware Sweeps Widener

 The University of Delaware men’s and women’s swimming teams capped off their 2008-09 regular season schedule with impressive victories over Widener at the Schwartz Athletic Center Wednesday evening.

During the non-conference meet, the Delaware men (11-2) won 10 events on the way to a 149-94 victory over the Pride. On the women’s side, the Hens (9-3) used 11 first-place finishes to post a 156-75 win.

With the men’s triumph, the Blue Hens tied the program record for victories in a single-season. Delaware also won 11 competitions during the 1965-66, 1977-78, and 2007-08 campaigns.

The men were led by Grady Carter, who captured three events during the meet. The sophomore standout broke the pool record in the 50-freestyle with a time of 21.16, while he also won the 100-free in 47.48. Later, he teamed with Ross Buckwalter, Michael Wodoslawsky, and Zach Schiavo to win the 200-medley relay with a time of 1:37.67.

Craig Young and Dominic Pavlik also won multiple events for the Hens. Young swept both backstroke events after winning the 100 in 53.52 before setting a pool record in the 200 in 1:55.18. Pavlik took the 100-breaststroke in 1:01.33 and also set a new pool mark in the 200-yard discipline with a time of 2:10.73.

Chad Gordan, Hans Gillan, and Scott Ehrmann rounded out the Delaware victors after picking up one win apiece. Gordon took the 1000-freestyle in 10:17.55, Gillan won the 200-free in 1:47.79, and Ehrmann finished first in the 200-butterfly with a time of 2:00.13.

While competing in the 200-IM, Josh Hyman also set a pool record as the freshman finished in 1:58.33.

For the women, Emily Watts came up big as the senior won three events during the meet. Along with pacing the field in the 100-backstroke (1:02.53) as well as the 200-yard discipline (2:10.80), she also joined with Hannah Facchine, Sarah Begley, and Donna Healy to take the 200-medley relay in 1:51.01.

Along with helping lead the relay team, Facchine and Begley both returned to the pool to earn individual victories. Facchine won the 200-breaststroke in 2:26.46, while Begley touched the wall first in the 200-butterfly with a time of 2:09.84.

Megan Huber also won multiple events for the Hens with victories in the 100-freestyle (54.54) and the 100-butterfly (1:00.50). Fellow first-year standout Marianne Flynn also picked up a victory after pacing the 100-breaststroke field with a time of 1:07.88, while sophomore Meghan Barber cruised to a win in the 50-freestyle in 25.38.

Kiley Friedrich and Cortney Barry rounded out the winners on the women’s side as Friedrich won the 1000-freestyle with a pool record time of 10:49.75, while Barry took the 200-free in 1:55.79.

The Blue Hens will now have a month-long break in action before participating in the Colonial Athletic Association championships hosted by George Mason on February 25-28.