Cavalier Women Head to NCAA Championships

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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia women’s swimming team, fresh off its third consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference championship, heads to West Lafayette, Ind., to compete this week at the 2010 NCAA Championships. The event, which begins Thursday, is being held at the Boilermaker Aquatics Center on the campus of Purdue University.

Fans can watch video streaming of the three-day event online for free at NCAA.com.

Virginia, ranked No. 11 in the latest CSCAA top-25 poll, qualified a school-record 16 swimmers, the most in school history and the third-most in the country this season. Representing the Cavaliers will be seniors Mei Christensen, Jenna Harris, Katherine McDonnell and Jen Narum; juniors Katya Bachrouche, Claire Crippen, Hannah Davis, Amanda Faulkner, Kristen Moores, Anne Summer Myers and Liz Shaw; sophomores Kelly Flynn and Lauren Smart; and freshmen Meredith Cavalier, Christine Olson and Lauren Perdue.

“The goal we set at the beginning of the year was to win the ACC, defend our title, and go to NCAAs and improve and try to get a top-10 finish,” Virginia head coach Mark Bernardino said. “It is wonderful that we are sending so many representatives to the meet and we have prepared well from ACCs until now. The challenge in front of us is really as much of a mental challenge as it is physical. They are going to see some of the greatest athletes in the world. How well they handle the pressure and react to the environment of great swimmers will ultimately determine how well they perform.”

Seven members of the squad are making their first appearance at the national meet: Bachrouche, Faulkner, Myers, Flynn, Cavalier, Olson and Perdue.

The 2010 event marks the 29th year Virginia has been represented at the NCAA Championships, all under head coach Mark Bernardino. Members of past Cavalier squads have scored points every year with the exception of the 1996 championships. UVa’s highest finish at the NCAA meet was a seventh-place showing in 1998.

Cara Lane is the only Virginia swimmer to win an individual national championship, doing so in the 1500-yard freestyle in 2000 and again in the 1650 freestyle in 2001.

A year ago, Virginia placed 12th overall and all five relay teams picked up All-America or honorable mention All-America honors. Christensen was an All-American in the 100 back (fifth-place finish) and 200 back (sixth). Crippen (400 IM) and Narum (1650 free) each picked up honorable mention honors a year ago.

2010 Women’s NCAA Championships
Schedule of Events

Thursday, March 18
200 Freestyle Relay
500 Freestyle
200 Individual Medley
50 Freestyle
400 Medley Relay
One-meter Diving

Friday, March 19
200 Medley Relay
400 Individual Medley
100 Butterfly
200 Freestyle
100 Breaststroke
100 Backstroke
800 Freestyle Relay
Three-meter Diving

Saturday, March 20
200 Backstroke
100 Freestyle
200 Breaststroke
200 Butterfly
400 Freestyle Relay
Platform Diving
1650 Freestyle