Virginia Swimmers Win Three Events At UGA Fall Invitational
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Dec. 3, 2005
ATHENS, Ga. – University of Virginia swimmers won three events during the second of competition Saturday (Dec. 2) in the UGA Fall Invitational, which is being held at Gabrielsen Natatorium. Second-year Pat Mellors (Pittsburgh, Pa./Central Catholic) and third-year Vanja Rogulj (Zagreb, Croatia/ Split) won the 400 individual medley and 100 breaststroke, respectively, for the men. Fourth-year Brielle White (Philadelphia, Pa./Springside School) automatically qualified for the NCAA Championships while taking the top spot in the women’s 100 backstroke. After two days of competition, the 13th-ranked Cavalier men stand in fourth place with 388 points, while the 20th-ranked UVa women are in fifth place with 320 points.
Tenth-ranked Tennessee leads the eight-team men’s meet with 702.5 points, while 11th-ranked Georgia is second with 700 points. Harvard is third (415.5), while Virginia is fourth (388) and South Carolina is fifth (336). In the eight-team women’s meet, top-ranked Georgia leads with way with 683.5 points and seventh-rated California is second (650). Seventh-ranked UCLA is third with 463 points, followed by South Carolina (344), and Virginia (320).
Mellors clocked a time of 3:50.61 to win the 400 I.M. Two other Cavaliers competed in the “A” final of the 400 I.M. with fourth-year Fran Crippen (Conshohocken, Pa./Germantown Academy) taking third place (3:52.63) and second-year Ryan Hurley (Potomac, Md./Georgetown Prep) finishing seventh (3:59.72). Mellors and Crippen bettered the NCAA “B” qualifying standard. Rogulj won the 100 breaststroke by a second with his time of 54.11. Hurley took fifth place in the 200 breast (57.05), while second-year PJ Sullivan (Franklin, Mass./Bishop Feehan) was seventh (58.12).
Fourth-year Andrew Barber (Vienna, Va./Marshall) placed fifth in the one-meter diving competition with 287.80 points. Second-year Bryan Stahl (Woodlands, Texas/Woodlands) turned in a time of 50.28 to finish seventh in the 100 backstroke. Stahl also led off UVa’s 200 medley relay that finished fourth with a time of 1:30.48. Rogulj, third-year Stefan Hirniak (Highland Park, N.J./Princeton Day) and third-year Greg Imboden (Chattanooga, Tenn./McCallie) joined Stahl on the 200 medley relay. UVa closed out the night with a seventh-place finish in the 800 free relay (6:41.75). Mellors, Crippen, third-year John Millen (Lilburn, Ga./Parkview) and Sullivan swam legs on the relay.
In the women’s meet, White automatically qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 100 backstroke with a winning time of 53.63. Second-year Anna Steenrod (Charlotte, N.C/Charlotte Latin) and fourth-year Katie Gordon (Winter Park, Fla./Trinity Prep) turned in NCAA B times in taking fifth and sixth place in the 400 I.M. with times of 4:21.20 and 4:21.78, respectively. Steenrod also won the “B” final of the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:04.17, just one one-hundredth of a second faster than third-year Jenny Steiner (Lawrenceville, N.J./Lawrence), who was 10th (1:04.18). In the three-meter diving competition, first-year Jackie Apple (New Albany, Ohio/ New Albany) finished 13th with 233.00 points.
UVa finished sixth in the 800 freestyle relay with a time of 7:27.74. Steenrod, fourth-year Rachael Burke (Bethesda Md./Good Counsel), third-year Katy Bland (Raleigh, N.C./Leesville), and Gordon swam legs on the relay. In the 200 medley relay, the foursome of White, Steenrod, first-year Kristen Wallace (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) and Bland posted an eighth-place time of 1:44.58.
The UGA Fall Invitational concludes Sunday (Dec. 4) with prelims at 9:30 a.m. and finals starting at 3:00 p.m.