Clemson Opens Season With Davidson Win

Christopher Ip and the Clemson men’s and women’s
swimming and diving teams defeated the Davidson Wildcats Saturday in
Cannon Natatorium.  The men took a 183-92 victory and the women won
177-123.  The win gives the Tigers a 1-0 start to the season while
Davidson fell to 0-1.

This win gave the men a 15-14 edge overall in the series and the women
remained undefeated at 8-0 all-time against Davidson.

The Tiger men started their day off strong by taking the top three
finishes in the 200 yard medley relay.  The group of freshmen Andrew
Abeysinghe and sophomores Chris Dart, Derek Barre and Myles Oliver
took first in the event with a 1:35.34 mark.  Davidson took first for
the women with the Tigers finishing second through fifth.

Junior Sarah Smith and freshman Sarah Andrews went one-two for the
women in the 1000 free, while David Gordon, Will Clark and Thomas
Recko had a 1-2-3 finish for the men.

Freshman Meg Anderson took the 200 free (1:55.10) to earn her first
career victory and sophomore Seth Broster (1:45.42) won on the men’s
side.

The Tigers then swept the 100 backstroke with sophomore Cara Lennon
taking the win for the women and sophomore Chris Dart for the men.
Kelly Fowler and freshman Heather Savage rounded out the top three for
the women and Jason Chatlosh, Myles Oliver and Will Clark took the top
four spots for the men.

Freshman Laura Browning got her first career victory in the 100
breaststroke with a 1:09.67.  Sophomore Sarah Bechard won the 200
butterfly with freshman Tori Cervone and junior Elizabeth Savage
rounding out the top three.  Senior Thomas Recko and junior David
Gordon combined to go 1-2 for the men.  Chris Dart won his third event
on the day with his victory in the 50 freestyle touching at 21.40.

On the diving boards sophomore Brooke George took the one and
three-meter for the Tigers while freshmen Elizabeth Tatum took second
and sophomore Cassie Self took second and third on both.  Tiger
freshman Patrick Chamberlain took the one and three-meters for the
men.

Lee Groseclose, Eric Bruck, Derek Barre and Scott Clary took the top
four spots in the 100 free.  Freshman Andrew Abeysinghe won the 200
backstroke with sophomore Will Clark placing second.

Senior Mandy Snell won both the 200 breaststroke and the 200 IM for
the Tigers, while Alex Carr won the 500 free and Josef Knecht won the
100 fly.

Freshman Drew Onken led the Wildcats with wins in the 100 breast, 200
breast and 200 IM.  Junior Lindsey Martin took the 50 free, 100 free
and was on the first place 200 medley relay and 400 free relay.

The Tigers will return to action on Saturday, October 10 when they
travel to Atlanta, GA to face ACC foes Georgia Tech and Miami (women)
along with non-conference opponent Western Kentucky at 11:00 a.m.



Junior Lindsey Martin won a pair of individual titles and contributed to a pair of winning relays as the Davidson Wildcat swimming and diving team opened its 2009-10 season by hosting the Clemson Tigers Saturday afternoon at Cannon Natatorium.

The school-record holder in both events, Martin won the 50 free with a time 23.76 and the 100 free with a time of 52.99.

Martin also swam the anchor leg on both of the Wildcats' winning relays. In the 4x50, she combined with classmates Anna Stringfield, Alexa Richardson and Emily Castle to finish first with a time of 1:51.01. Castle, Jean DeOrnellas and Jessica Delgehausen swam with Martin on the winning 4x100 relay for a a time of 3:35.34.

As a team, the Wildcat women amassed 123 points to Clemson's 177. On the men's side, the Clemson Tigers won by a 183-92 margin.

"At once, we have a lot to be excited about and a lot to work on," head coach John Young said. "We knew Clemson would be fast, and this was a good opening contest for us."

Martin wasn't the only highlight for the Wildcat women, as Castle turned in a 56.28, the only swimmer under a minute, to finish first in the 100 butterfly, and Delgehausen won the 500 freestyle wih a time of 5:11.10.

Making an early impact in their debuts, freshman Kelsi Hobbs and DeOrnellas were impressive. Hobbs won the 200 backstroke with a time of 2:08.81, and DeOrnellas finished third in the 100 freestyle with a noteable time of 54.0 and placed fourth in the 50 freestyle in 25.29.

The Wildcat women also won the only two relays contested on the day.

"It is my hope that this women's team prioritizes relays all season long," Young said. "Winning both today, against a deep Clemson squad, was a great start."

For the Wildcat men, freshman Drew Onken won both breaststroke events and the 200 IM (1.56.04). He finished first in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 59.89, the only swimmer under the minute mark, and won the 200 with a dominant time of 2:08.59.

Other highlights from the men include a second-place finish from sophomore Curtis Chaney in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:45.77, and junior Bryan Droll finishing as the runner-up in the 50 freestyle with a time of 21.93.

The Wildcats will return to action Oct. 17 against East Carolina at 1 p.m. at Cannon Natatorium.