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Cavaliers Drop 12 NCAA ?B? Cuts in Friday Competition
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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Both the Virginia men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams hold an advantage over Virginia Tech and Princeton after two sessions of competition held Friday at the Aquatic and Fitness Center. The Cavaliers dropped 12 NCAA ‘B’ cuts on the first day.
At the end of the first day, the Cavalier women tallied 667 points to lead the Hokies (447.5) and Tigers (419.5), while the men’s 646.5 points also pace ahead of Virginia Tech (526) and Princeton (352.5).
Senior Matt McLean, freshman Taylor Grey and sophomore Lauren Perdue led the Cavaliers on day one with two individual event wins. McLean claimed the 200 and 500 freestyle events, while Perdue captured first-place honors in the 50 and 200 freestyle. Grey won the 200 individual medley and 100 breaststroke.
“It was a very good day for us,” Virginia head coach Mark Bernardino said. “We had a lot of young athletes step up and perform at very high levels. We also saw where some athletes hit the wall in terms of fatigue and their ability to perform in multiple races at high levels. We need to have that information in order to taper them the right way at the end of the season, so we are learning a lot. All-in-all, I am very pleased with where we are. The attitude of the team is outstanding.”
Both the men’s and women’s 200 free relay squads took first in the opening events. Lauren Perdue, Emily Lloyd, Kelly Flynn and Hannah Davis started the meet with a first-place finish, touching in at a NCAA ‘B’ time of 1:32.18. Scot Robison, Peter Geissinger, David Karasek and Zach Kohl finished in 1:22.78 to lead the Cavalier men.
Robison went on to take first-place honors in the 50 free as he and Geissinger went 1-2 with times of 20.44 and 20.78 respectively. McLean captured the 500 freestyle title leading the Orange and Blue to another 1-2-3 finish, touching in at 4:24.12. Freshmen Jon Daniec (4:26.10) and Brad Phillips (4:27.75) placed second and third, respectively; all were NCAA ‘B’ cuts.
The UVa women also had a strong showing in the 500 free as senior Katya Bachrouche took top honors with a time of 4:47.12. Teammate Rachel Naurath finished second, touching in at 4:48.18, while Anne Summer Myers placed fourth (4:51.27). All three times were NCAA ‘B’ cuts. Perdue’s win in the 50 free (22.91) was another ‘B’ mark.
Both the men’s and women’s squads took first-place honors in the 400 medley relay, the final event of the morning. The women’s squad, consisting of Jenny Lewis, Amanda Faulkner, Naurath and Lloyd finished in 3:44.77, while the men’s team of Matt Murray, Grey, Geissinger and Robison recorded a time of 3:19.76.
Virginia started the evening strong as the women swept the 200 medley relay. Charlotte Clarke, Kelly Flynn, Shaw and Lloyd placed first, finishing in 1:43.33. The men also put up a strong performance, as Murray, Grey, Geissinger and Robison claimed a victory in 1:32.02.
Perdue won her second individual event of the day with a NCAA ‘B’ time of 1:48.13 in the 200 freestyle. Naurath (1:50.29) and Moores (1:50.34) followed closely behind, finishing second and third, respectively, in the event.
Virginia also swept the 100 backstroke as Meredith Cavalier touched in first at 55.89 followed by Clarke (55.90) and Lewis (57.27). Shaw went on to finish second in both the 400 individual medley (4:17.80, ‘B’) and the 100 butterfly (55.70).
The men placed first in six of the evening’s seven events. Phillips led the way with a first-place finish in the 400 individual medley (3:56.41). Houser took second, touching at 3:59.08.
McLean won his second individual event of the day as he led the Cavaliers to a 1-2-3 finish in the 200 freestyle. He finished in 1:37.42 with Robison (1:38.46) and Karasek (1:39.95) taking second and third, respectively.
Grey went on to win yet another individual title for the Orange and Blue as he placed first in the 100 breaststroke, finishing in 56.16.
The Cavaliers took first in the final event of the evening, the 800 free relay. John Snawerdt, Jonathan Buerger, Daniec and Taylor Smith led the way for the men, finishing in 6:47.16. Lauren Perdue, Shaw, Moores and Caroline Kenney paced the women with a NCAA ‘B’ time of 7:22.33.
Virginia returns to the pool at 10 a.m. Saturday for the third and final session.