Cavaliers Conclude Opening Day of SMU Classic in Third Place
DALLAS, Texas – Members of the No. 10 Virginia women’s swimming and diving team concluded the opening day of the SMU Classic on Friday (Oct. 12) in third place in the team standings.
“It was a good first day at the SMU Classic,” head coach Todd DeSorbo said. “The women are having a really good time and enjoying themselves, having fun. It’s, obviously, an early season meet that’s historically really fast. Probably the fastest meet in the country for most of the first semester. So it’s good to be here and swim against some of the top competition in the country.
“Some good early season swims for us. Just like our dual meet last weekend, we are just looking to get that race experience, and try to improve upon what we did last week and just build each week into the next. We are pleased with how the women performed today. I think that the two standout performances are Sydney Dusel on the boards. She got second and was in the lead for most of the 1m event and was only beat by an Olympian from the University of Miami. So that is a great start to her season. The swim of the session goes to Anna Pang in her 100 breaststroke. Phenomenal swim in an event she has not done in a quite some time. We are looking forward to the second session tomorrow.”
The Cavaliers recorded 149 points to finish the day in third place. No. 8 Louisville leads the meet with 180 points, while No. 11 USC is in second place with 152 points.
Virginia opened the day with redshirt junior Megan Moroney (Deerfield Beach, Fla.), freshman Kaki Christensen (Darien, Conn.), sophomore Anna Pang (London) and junior Morgan Hill (Olney, Md.), respectively, finishing third and recording a time of 3:36.54 in the 400-yard medley relay.
Sophomore Abby Richter (Henderson, Nev.) led the Cavaliers with a third-place finish in the 400-yard individual medley. She recorded a time of 4:18.69, while freshman Julia Menkhaus (Charlotte, N.C.) placed eighth in the event with a time of 4:19.66.
Sophomore Paige Madden (Mobile, Ala.) placed third in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:46.48. Moroney placed second in the consolation final and eighth overall with a time of 1:46.08.
In the 50-yard freestyle, Hill finished third with a time of 22.63, while sophomore Kyla Valls (Miami, Fla.) finished seventh with a time of 23.11.
On the 1m board, junior Sydney Dusel (Naperville, Ill.) captured a second-place finish. She recorded a score of 295.60 in the event.
Pang and Menkhaus finished fifth and eighth, respectively, in the 100-yard butterfly. Pang recorded a time of 54.29 in the finals, while Menkhaus swam a time of 54.40 in the consolation finals.
Richter recorded her second third-place finish of the night in the 100-yard backstroke. She recorded a time of 54.35 in the event. Madden placed first in the consolation finals and seventh overall with a time for 54.66.
Christensen placed fourth in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:01.39, while Pang finished 10th with a time of 1:06.99.
Virginia concluded the night with a third-place finish in the 800-yard freestyle relay. Hill, Moroney, Madden and Valls, respectively, swam a time of 7:13.37.
The Cavaliers will conclude the 25th annual SMU Classic tomorrow. Events will begin at 2 p.m. ET.