Virginia Swimming Dominates Clemson
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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. The Virginia men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams swept Clemson Saturday at the Aquatic and Fitness Center. The 12th-ranked men downed Clemson 176-116 while the No. 19 women beat the Lady Tigers 178.5-116.5. Both squads move to 2-0 against Atlantic Coast Conference teams this season and are 2-1 on the year.
The women dominated Clemson, going 1-2-3 in six events. In the 1000 freestyle, Jenn Narum finished first with a time of 10:00.42. Claire Galdun (10:02.33) and Leslie Swinley (10:04.49) placed second and third, respectively. Jess Lewis, Jenna Harris and Megan Evo went 1-2-3 in the 200 freestyle, with Lewis finishing in a winning time of 1:50.32.
Mei Christensen led the field in the 200 back (2:01.75), closely followed by teammates Amanda Faulkner and Claire Crippen. Claire Galdun won the 500 free though swam it as an exhibition, with a time of 4:54.37. Narum took the event’s first-place points, followed by Swinley and Harris.
Crippen went on to win her first event as a Cavalier in the 400 IM with an impressive time of 4:15.86, more than seven seconds in front of second-place finisher Liz Shaw as well as Anne Summer Myers, who placed third. In the 100 butterfly, Stephanie Glover (55.27), Christensen, and Kristen Wallace placed first, second, and third, respectively.
Jess Lewis led the field in the 200 freestyle, where again the women finished 1-2-3. Lewis clocked in at 1:50.32, while teammates Megan Evo (1:52.30) and Jenna Harris (1:51.80) followed. Lewis claimed another win in the100 freestyle with a time of 50.69.
Christensen earned her second win of the afternoon in the 100 backstroke with a mark of 56.40. Other winners for the Cavalier women were Ellie Freeman (1:05.49 in the 100 breaststroke), and Shaw (2:00.58 in the 200 butterfly).
The women won both the relay events, with the team of Christensen, Freeman, Glover and Nancy Barr winning the 400 medley (3:46.18). Glover, Hanna Davis, Amber Bialas, and Lewis placing first in the 200 freestyle (1:33.02).
The men placed 1-2-3- in four events against the Tigers. Taylor Smith (9:16.20) won his first of two events in the 1000 freestyle, with Garrett Wren (9:22.02) and Darren Ankosko (9:22.33) finishing second and third, respectively. In the 200 butterfly, Lee Robertson placed first with a time of 1:50.39, followed by Dan McMahon and Ian Vogt.
It was more of the same in the 200 breaststroke, with John Azar, PJ Sullivan and Tim Hayes finishing 1-2-3. In the 400 IM, it was Hayes who claimed the win, in front of teammates Darren Ankosko and Vogt, though the Cavaliers swam that race as an exhibition and did not take points.
Matt McLean also won two events: the 100 and 200 freestyle. He swam a time of 45. 66 in the 100 and 1:39.43 in the 200. Robertson claimed his second win of the event in the 100 butterfly, edging the second-place finisher from Clemson by .05 seconds with a time of 49.94.
Other winners for Virginia were Eric Olesen (50.44 in the 100 backstroke) and Kenton Harris (1:49.98 in the 200 backstroke).
The men’s team of Bryan Stahl, Azar, Scot Robison and McLean won the 400 medley relay in 3:20.54. Later in the day, Scot Robison, Azar, Zach Kohl, and Robertson performed well in the 200 free relay, clocking in at 1:22.81 for a second-place finish.
In the first event of the day, Alex D’Ambrosio (290.25) and Nathan Parker (262.20) finished 1-2 in the men’s 3 meter diving event. In the 1 meter diving, D’Ambrosio put in a solid performance with a second-place performance of 274.95 points.
Jackie Apple led the women on the boards with two second-place finishes in the 1 meter and the 3 meter.
Dave Fafara, Virginia’s former diving coach, was recognized during the meet for his work during the past 18 seasons. A proclamation will be displayed in the Aquatic and fitness center in his honor.
Virginia will take on Big Ten opponents Michigan State and Penn State Nov. 9 and 10. The squads will meet in University Park, Pa.