Virginia Starts NCAA Championships with All-America Honor
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March 15, 2017
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The Virginia women’s swim team opened the NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships on Wednesday, March 15, 2017, with an All-America swim in the 800-yard freestyle relay. Leah Smith’s (Pittsburgh, Pa.) leadoff swim would also set a new Virginia record in the 200-yard freestyle as she clocked a 1:42.46 for the 200-yard split.
The meet opener saw the Cavaliers place fifth overall to earn the All-America honor in the event as Smith, Kaitlyn Jones (Newark, Del.), Jennifer Marrkand (Westford, Mass.), and Morgan Hill (Olney, Md.), respectively, reached the wall with a 6:55.97.
“It was an exciting first relay with some great racing by our women,” said head coach Augie Busch. “I can’t wait to get back to action tomorrow with two more strong relays and some of our better individual events.”
Smith’s 200-yard spilt broke a six-year old record set by Lauren Perdue in 2011. Perdue’s race clocked a 1:42.51 to land atop of the category.
The 800-yard freestyle relay swim also ranked among the top swims in UVA history, landing second in school history while earning All-America for the 22nd time as an event.
The Cavaliers would shave twenty-four hundredths of a second off their time to maintain their entry ranking. Stanford claimed the top spot with a new NCAA record 6:45.91 swim.
The meet continues tomorrow with the 200-yard freestyle relay, 500-yard freestyle, 200-yard individual medley, 50-yard freestyle, 400-yard medley relay, and the one-meter diving. The preliminary races will begin at 10 a.m., followed by the finals at 6p.m.