Virginia Swimmers Compete In Summer National Championships
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Aug. 5, 2005
IRVINE, Calif. – University of Virginia swimmers have found success in the first two days of the 2005 ConocoPhillips Summer National Swimming Championships. A total of 12 Cavalier swimmers traveled to Irvine, Calif., to race in the meet, which will run through Sunday (August 7) at the William J. Woollett Aquatics Center. The 800-meter freestyle was held on Wednesday (August 3) and all other Virginia swimmers competed on Thursday.
Third-year Stefan Hirniak (Highlands Park, N.J./Princeton Day) finished second in the finals of the 200-meter butterfly with a time of 1:58.15. He was also second in the preliminaries with a time of 1:58.86. He was the runner-up to Olympic gold-medalist Michael Phelps. Michael Raab (Rockville, Md./Walter Johnson), who completed his eligibility at Virginia in 2004-2005, placed third in the finals of the 200 fly with a time of 1:58.96. He was seventh with a time of 2:00.48 in the preliminary competition. Incoming first-year TJ Southmayd (Wallingford, Pa./Strath Haven) placed 52nd in the preliminaries of the 200 fly with a time of 2:05.59.
Fourth-year Fran Crippen (Conshohocken, Pa./Germantown Academy) was third in the finals of the 800-meter freestyle with a time of 8:02.33. Crippen also swam in the preliminary competition of the 200 fly, finishing 26th with a time of 2:03.39.
Second-year Ryan Hurley (Potomac, Md./Georgetown Prep) advanced to the finals of the 200-meter breaststroke where he finished sixth with a time of 2:18.25. He was seventh in the preliminary competition with a time of 2:18.09.
Second-year Kevin Nead (Cincinnati, Ohio/Cincinnati Hills Christian Acad.) advanced to the final session of the 200-meter backstroke and finished 23rd overall with a time of 2:05.99. He was 24th in the preliminary competition with a time of 2:05.85. Incoming first-year Bjorn Falk (Wilton, N.H./High Mowing) finished 33rd in the preliminaries of the 200 backstroke with a time of 2:06.69.
Of the 12 Virginia swimmers at the five-day meet, seven are returning swimmers, and four are incoming first-years. Second-year Anna Steenrod (Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Latin) is the lone female Virginia swimmer at the meet.