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DALLAS – The Virginia women’s swimming team opened the SMU Classic in fifth place Friday after one day of competition. The meet, which runs through Saturday, is being held at the six-lane Perkins Natatorium in Dallas, Texas.

Virginia stands in fifth place with 121 points after nine events. Texas currently leads the field with 175 points, followed by Florida (165), and host SMU (134).

“We swam well, but we can swim better and we can swim smarter,” Virginia assistant coach Doak Finch said. “It was great to see everyone getting up to race. We saw where we can improve both strategically and technically. There were some bright spots; our first years are really racing tough. We are looking forward to improving and racing fast tomorrow.”

Virginia’s 400 medley relay team commenced the meet with a fourth-place finish. Ellen Williamson, Kelly Flynn, Sarah White and Emily Lloyd touched in 3:47.35. The 800 freestyle relay squad later ended the first day of competition with a third-place performance. Rachel Naurath, Caroline Kenney, Emily Dicus and Flynn finished in 7:25.82 for the Cavaliers.

The meet format requires one swimmer from each of the six schools to compete in both the consolation heat and championship heat of each individual event. Those entries were predetermined by each team’s coaching staff.

Sophomore Rachel Naurath posted UVa’s best individual finish of the night, placing second in the 100 butterfly (56.00). She also took fourth in the 200 freestyle in a time of 1:49.39.

Freshman Ellen Williamson was one of three Cavalier newcomers making their college debuts at the SMU Classic, joining classmates Emily Dicus and Sarah White. Williamson tallied a pair of third-place finishes in the 400 IM (4:22.34) and 100 backstroke (55.70).

Senior Kelly Flynn, who swam on both relay teams, placed fifth individually in the 100 breaststroke (1:04.18). Sophomore Emily Lloyd recorded a sixth-place finish in the 50 freestyle (24.41).

Junior Christine Olson contributed two ninth-place performances in the 400 IM (4:22.73) and 100 breaststroke (1:04.28). Sophomore Caroline Kenney also finished ninth in the 200 freestyle (1:50.78) while White was ninth in the 100 backstroke (56.78).

Dicus placed 10th in the 100 butterfly (57.15) and 12th in the 50 freestyle (24.24) for the Cavaliers.

The second and final session of the SMU Classic begins at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time Saturday.

SMU Classic | Team Standings
Day One

1. Texas 175
2. Florida 165
3. SMU 134
4. Louisville 126.4
5. VIRGINIA 121
6. Wisconsin 106.5

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