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Virginia Women Begin NCAA Championships Thursday
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March 20, 2013
| 2013 NCAA Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships | |
| Date | Thursday-Saturday March 21-23 |
| Location | Indianapolis, Ind. | IU Natatorium |
| Coverage | Live Results | ESPN3 (Fri and Sat finals) |
| Additional Information | Twitter | Facebook | Schedule of Events |
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.— The ACC champion Virginia women’s swimming and diving team will send 13 swimmers to the NCAA Championships, set for March 21-23 at the IU Natatorium in Indianapolis, Ind.
Preliminaries begin each day at 11 a.m. and finals will start each evening at 7 p.m. ESPN3 will carry a live broadcast of the finals sessions on Friday and Saturday. Live results for the swimming portion of the meet as well as a blog covering the action at all six sessions will be linked on VirginiaSports.com.
“We’ve had such a good year,” UVa head coach Mark Bernardino said. “I hope we continue to swim well and swim as a unit and if we do that, we should see some individuals and relays score highly.”
For the sixth consecutive year, the No. 10 Virginia women have qualified at least 10 student-athletes into the NCAA Championships.
Senior Lauren Perdue, juniors Caroline Kenney and Rachel Naurath, sophomores Shaun Casey, Alison Haulsee, Kelly Offutt, Sarah White and Ellen Williamson and freshmen Courtney Bartholomew, Hanne Borgersen and Haley Durmer will all participate in individual events at the NCAA Championships. Junior Emily Lloyd and sophomore Emily Dicus will compete in the Cavalier relays.
The 11 individuals will have an opportunity to swim in up to three individual events, while Virginia will compete in four relays, including the 200, 400 and 800 freestyle relays and the 200 medley relay.
The highest finish in school history for UVa was a seventh-place showing in 1988.
The Cavaliers captured its 11th Atlantic Coast Conference crown Feb. 23, at the Greensboro Aquatic Center in Greensboro, N.C.
UVa finished with 832 points for their sixth consecutive ACC title, tied for most in conference history. Virginia Tech was second (536), while North Carolina (508) third.
Perdue was named the meet’s Most Outstanding Swimmer for the third time (2010, 2011) in her career. Offutt (500 free, 1,650 free) and Bartholomew (100 back, 200 back) each won two individual titles, while Perdue (200 free) and Williamson (200 IM) each picked up one individual crown.
The 800 free relay of Naurath, Kenney, Williamson and Perdue also placed first in a conference and school record time of 7:01.56.
Perdue will be competing at the national meet for the third time after missing last year’s championships due to a back injury. Lloyd and Naruath return for the third time, while Dicus, Haulsee, Kenney, White and Williamson will be competing for the second year.
Five Cavaliers will compete for the first time at the national championship, including Bartholomew, Borgersen, Casey, Durmer and Offutt.
The action begins Thursday with the 200 free relay, 500 free, 200 IM, 50 free, 1-meter diving and 400 medley relay events.