Virginia Women Place 13th at NCAA Championships

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AUSTIN, Texas – The Virginia women’s swimming team placed 13th at the 2011 NCAA Championships which concluded Saturday in Austin, Texas. Sophomores Meredith Cavalier and Lauren Perdue and senior Katya Bachrouche, in addition to the 400 freestyle relay team, earned honorable mention All-America honors on the final day of competition.

The event was held at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center on the UT campus. It was the fourth consecutive year the Cavaliers have placed among the top-20 nationally.

Six Virginia seniors – Katya Bachrouche, Claire Crippen, Hannah Davis, Kristen Moores, Anne Summer Myers and Liz Shaw – concluded their collegiate careers at these championships. They will go down as the most successful class in school history after being the first to leave with four Atlantic Coast Conference titles.

“It’s been just a great run with this group of fourth years,” Virginia head coach Mark Bernardino said. “History will prove this group to be one of the greatest teams that has ever competed and represented the University of Virginia. I can’t thank each and every one of them enough for their dedication, enthusiasm, loyalty, the feeling of family they brought and the sense of responsibility they took upon themselves to be the best women’s team that has ever represented this school.”

Virginia was 14th entering the final day but was able to jump LSU and take over 13th place with 105 points. California won the national title with 424 points, followed by Georgia (394.5) and USC (351).

The Cavaliers concluded the championships with 11 national honors, including four more on Saturday.

Bachrouche, who earned her first career honorable mention All-America honor on the first night of the championships in the 500 freestyle, put together a lifetime best time of 16:03.52 in the 1650 freestyle. That mark was good enough for 10th place and another honorable mention accolade.

“Our milers had a spectacular day today led by Katya’s 10th-place finish,” Bernardino said. “It was one of the most beautiful swims of her career and was a great way for her to finish up.”

Perdue collected honorable mention All-America accolades with an 11th-place performance in the 100 freestyle. She clocked a time of 48.24 in the event and finished third in the consolation final.

“It was a very difficult meet for her – she raced 13 times and just ran out of gas,” Bernardino said. “She still performed very, very well.”

Cavalier earned her first career honorable mention All-America accolade in the 200 backstroke on Saturday night. She finished fifth in the consolation final in a time of 1:54.35 to place 13th overall in the event.

“She had another great swim and got the evening off to a great start,” Bernardino said.

Freshman Rachel Naurath placed 18th in the 1650 freestyle with a time of 16:09.17 and senior Anne Summer Myers clocked a mark of 16:13.46 to place 23rd overall.

The 400 freestyle relay team of Perdue, Moores, Davis and freshman Emily Lloyd capped the meet with a 10th-place showing. They finished in 3:15.74 and became the third UVa relay at the championships to earn either All-America or honorable mention All-America accolades.

“We really wanted to win that relay but got out-touched by a Southern Cal team that finished third at this championship,” Bernardino said. “All-in-all, we are in a positive position to continue to have strong performances and are excited about our future.”

The 13th-place finish for Virginia marks the fourth straight year the Cavaliers have placed among the top-20 at the national meet. The squad was 20th in 2008, 12th in 2009 and ninth in 2010.

Virginia’s 2011 All-Americans

Individuals
Katya Bachrouche, Sr.
500 Freestyle – 12th (HM)
1650 Freestyle – 10th

Claire Crippen, Sr.
400 Individual Medley – 13th (HM)

Meredith Cavalier, So.
200 Backstroke – 13th (HM)

Rachel Naurath, Fr.
500 Freestyle – 16th (HM)

Lauren Perdue, So.
200 Freestyle – 2nd
50 Freestyle – 8th
100 Freestyle – 11th (HM)

Relays
800 Free Relay – 6th
Rachel Naurath, Liz Shaw, Kristen Moores, Lauren Perdue

400 Free Relay – 10th (HM)
Lauren Perdue, Kristen Moores, Hannah Davis, Emily Lloyd

200 Free Relay – 12th (HM)
Lauren Perdue, Hannah Davis, Kelly Flynn, Emily Lloyd