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Cavalier Women Lead Nittany Lions, Hoosiers
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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia women’s swimming and diving team leads Big Ten opponents Indiana and Penn State after the first night of competition held Friday at the Aquatic and Fitness Center.
At the end of the first day, the Cavalier women pace ahead of Penn State 115-71 and Indiana, 108-78. The men lead the Nittany Lions 141-45 but trail the Hoosiers 98-88.
The Cavaliers dropped 11 NCAA ‘B’ cuts on the first of two days of competition.
“There was a lot of really outstanding swimming,” head coach Mark Bernardino said. “We knew we were going to caught in the middle of a Big Ten shootout in taking on two rivals in Indiana and Penn State. We knew that it was going to bring out the best in both of them so we were hopeful that it would bring out the best in us as well and it has. We swam with a lot of focus and intensity for the most part today. There were a couple places where we lapsed but all-in-all, it’s a tight meet and it will come down to tomorrow.”
Virginia excelled in the 500 freestyle, accumulating seven NCAA ‘B’ times. Senior Katya Bachrouche led the way, placing first in 4:48.04. Freshman Rachel Naurath (4:49.45) and senior Anne Summer Myers (4:51.89) placed second and fourth, respectively. Sophomore Matt Murray took first on the men’s side, followed by Taylor Smith, Bradley Phillips and Jon Daniec, who went 1-2-3-4. All were NCAA ‘B’ cuts.
Sophomore Lauren Perdue led the women with a first-place finish in the 100 freestyle, touching in at a NCAA ‘B’ time of 49.51. Teammate Kristen Moores placed second (50.48).
Senior Liz Shaw and Naurath also recorded NCAA ‘B’ times in the 200 fly. Shaw placed first with a time of 1:57.99 while Naurath placed third (2:00.39).
The UVa women also had a strong showing in the 200 free relay and the 400 medley relays, taking first in both. The team of Perdue, Kelly Flynn, Hannah Davis and Emily Lloyd claimed the 200 free relay with a NCAA ‘B’ time of 1:32.50. In the 400 medley relay, Charlotte Clarke, Flynn, Shaw and Perdue led Virginia to victory, touching in 3:43.25. The Cavalier men took second in both the 200 free and 400 medley relays.
Other top-3 finishers for the Orange and Blue included team captains Matt McLean who touched in first in the 200 fly (1:48.62) and Scot Robsion who won the 100 free (45.04). Additionally, freshman Taylor Grey took first-place honors in the 100 breaststroke, finishing in 55.75.
Virginia returns to the pool at 11 a.m. Saturday for the second and final session.
“We’re looking for improvement from all our athletes from wherever they stand up to this point,” Bernardino said. “Hopefully there will be good improvements from a few more people.”