Richmond swimming and diving got the 2014-15 season started Friday evening by taking the lead against old CAA rivals Old Dominion and UNC Wilmington in day one of a two-day tri-meet at the Seahawk Natatorium in Wilmington, North Carolina.
After day one, Richmond leads ODU 106.5-78.5, while the Spiders lead host UNCW 96-89.
“We drove four and a half hours straight to Wilmington’s pool after our midterms, so I’m okay with this result,” said Richmond head coach Matt Barany. “We faded slightly as the meet went on.”
The main highlight of day one included a 1-2-3 finish in the 100 Fly, where junior Kelley Yang (Ellicott City, Maryland) was followed by senior Anna Fetter (Westfield, New Jersey) and junior Natalya Ares (Potomac, Maryland) in that event.
The large freshman class had an impact on the scoring for the Spiders. Freshman Hannah Verrette (Marblehead, Massachusetts) captured the first event win of the day for the Spiders, turning in a 2:09.79 in the 200 IM. Fetter finished second for Richmond.
Freshman Annie Lane (Vinton, Virginia) took two first-place finishes in her first day of collegiate competition, winning both the 1000 and 200 Free events Friday.
“It’s always cool to see an athlete get their first college event win,” said Barany. "Hannah winning the 200 IM and Annie winning her events was awesome.”
The divers competed in the 3m Friday, with sophomore Irina Chiulli (Westwood, Massachusetts) registering a 243.00, tops against UNCW and second versus ODU. Sophomore Mikaela Gekas-Robinson (Woodbury, New Jersey) turned in a 216.15 for third in both match-ups, and freshman teammate Laura Rokop (Carmel, Indiana) was right behind in fourth with a 209.85.
The three teams will get back in the water Saturday morning to conclude the weekend. Richmond will host the Richmond Duals next weekend both on campus for the diving and at GRAP for the swimming.
