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March 18, 2006

ATHENS, Ga. – University of Virginia fourth-year Brielle White (Philadelphia, Pa./Springside School) garnered her second first-team All-America certificate of the 2006 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships by finishing fourth in the 200 backstroke Saturday (Mar. 18) at the University of Georgia’s Gabrielsen Natatorium. As a team, Virginia tied for 23rd place in the three-day meet with 34 points.

White placed fourth in the championship final of the 200 backstroke with an ACC record time of 1:55.67 in her final collegiate event. She bettered her own ACC record of 1:55.83, which she set at the 2006 ACC Championships. White was seeded eighth entering the finals after posting a time of 1:56.30 in the morning preliminaries. It marks the first time White has captured first-team All-America honors in the 200 backstroke after earning honorable mention honors in 2004 and 2005. She is also a three-time first-team All-American in the 100 backstroke, including a third-place performance with a school record time of 52.76 Friday (Mar. 17) evening.

Fourth-year Rachael Burke (Bethesda, Md./Good Counsel) concluded her collegiate career by finishing 14th in the 1650 freestyle with a time of 16:24.18 to capture honorable mention All-America accolades. It marks the fourth consecutive year Burke has earned All-America honors in the mile.

Fourth-year Katie Gordon (Winter Park, Fla./Trinity Prep) also competed in the preliminaries of the 200 backstroke and finished 34th with a time of 2:00.62. It marked a season-best time for Gordon in the 200 back.

Virginia tied for 23rd place with Houston with 34 points. Auburn led Georgia by five points heading into the 400 freestyle relay, the final event of the meet, and finished one spot behind Georgia in the relay to secure the NCAA title. Auburn claimed first place with 518.5 points, while Georgia was second with 515.5 points. Arizona was third with 415 points and California (291) and Stanford (209) rounded out the top five.

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