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UVA Wins Five Events on First Night at Georgia Fall Invitational
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Dec. 4, 2015
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ATHENS, Ga.–The Virginia men’s and women’s swimming and diving team broke two school records and captured five event wins on the first day of the Georgia Fall Invitational at Gabrielsen Natatorium in Athens, Ga.
The Virginia women lead with 323 points, ahead of Georgia (254), Auburn (219) and Penn State (167). The Cavalier men are fourth with 170 points, behind Georgia (285.5), Auburn (261.5) and California (237).
“All in all, a very good first day for us,” UVA head coach Augie Busch said. “We qualified a bunch of people for NCAAs, had strong relays on both sides, including the women’s 200 free relay breaking the school record, and KJ (Kaitlyn Jones) broke the school mark in the 200 IM. However, we need to do a better job of going faster in finals. We have to keep our energy and vision in a forward place and look forward to session three tomorrow morning.”
The women’s 200 free relay of freshman Kasey Schmidt (Saint Augustine, Fla.), junior Ellen Thomas (Guilford, United Kingdom), sophomore Caitlin Cooper (Atlanta, Ga.) and senior Courtney Bartholomew (Holland, Mich.) broke the Virginia record and posted the top time in the country this season in 1:28.05.
In the women’s 200 IM, junior Kaitlyn Jones (Newark, Del.) broke the school record and captured the win in an NCAA automatic-qualifying time of 1:55.11. That time ranks third in the country this season. Bartholomew was second in a time of 1:55.85, which is fifth in the country, while sophomore Jennifer Marrkand (Westford, Mass.) was fifth in 1:57.70. Marrkand’s time of 1:57.09 ranks fifth on UVA’s all-time list.
The women’s 400 medley relay of Bartholomew, junior Laura Simon (Simmern, Germany), Jones and Thomas won in an NCAA automatic-qualifying time of 3:28.58, the top time in the country.
Junior Leah Smith (Pittsburgh, Pa.) won the women’s 500 free in a time of 4:32.36. Freshman Megan Moroney (Deerfield Beach, Fla.) was fifth in 4:43.18 and senior Hanne Borgersen (Frederick, Md.) was eighth in 4:43.77. Smith’s prelim time of 4:30.85 is the top time in the country this season. Moroney’s prelim time of 4:42.74 moves her into tenth place on UVA’s all-time list.
In women’s 1-meter diving, senior Becca Corbett (Louisville, Ky.) won with a score of 266.55 points, while sophomore Corey Johnson (Ambler, Pa.) was seventh with a score of 237.35.
Cooper finished second in the women’s 50 free in a time of 22.18, which ranks third on UVA’s all-time list. Thomas was fourth in 22.37, while Schmidt was seventh in 22.57 and junior Shannon Rauth (Glenmoore, Pa.) was eighth in 22.85. Schmidt’s prelim time of 22.44 ranks fifth on UVA’s all-time list.
In the men’s 400 medley relay, the team of junior Austin Quinn (Chagrin Falls, Ohio), senior Yannick Kaeser (Mumpf, Switzerland), freshman Zach Fong (Moorestown, N.J.) and sophomore Nicholas Magana (Scottsdale, Ariz.) finished fourth in 3:09.11, the seventh-best time in the country this year and fifth on UVA’s all-time list.
The men’s 200 free relay of junior Matt Lockman (Charlottesville, Va.), Magana, freshman Gust Kouvaris (Troy, Mich.) and sophomore Luke Georgiadis (Jacksonville, Fla.) placed fifth in 1:19.24.
In the men’s 500 free, freshman Sam Magnan (Bethlehem, Pa.) placed seventh in 4:24.45, while Quinn was eighth in 4:26.89.
Junior Matt Lockman (Charlottesville, Va.) placed seventh in the men’s 50 free in 20.02.
In men’s 3-meter diving, seniors Carl Buergler (Arlington, Va.) and Jordan Sacks (Wilmette, Ill.) placed sixth and seventh with 333.30 and 318.85 points, respectively.
“We did a nice job today,” UVA head diving coach Jason Glorius said. “Seven out of the eight divers finaled with four placing in the top eight. For the most part, we either held our place or moved up in the finals. We are continuing to focus on the process of performing dives correctly even in a meet setting. That bodes well for championship season.
The action continues Saturday with the 200 medley relay, 400 IM, 100 fly, 200 free, 100 breast, 100 back, men’s 1-meter diving, women’s 3-meter diving and the 800 free relay being contested.