Virginia Concludes Day One of Georgia Fall Invite
Athens, Ga.- The Virginia men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams concluded the opening day of the Georgia Fall Invite on Thursday (Nov. 29) at the Gabrielsen Natatorium.
Virginia finished the day in fourth place in both competitions. The No. 4 Cavalier women’s team recorded 168 points, while the No. 15 men’s team finished the day with 157 points. No. 2 Michigan leads the women’s competition with 300 points, followed by No. 15 Georgia in second place with 258 points and No. 5 California in third place with 249.5 points. On the men’s side, No. 1 California leads the meet with 365 points. No. 4 Michigan is in second place with 301 points, while No. 14 Georgia is in third with 235 points.
“I’m pleased with our performances today, mostly that we came back and were better in the finals than we were in the morning,” head coach Todd DeSorbo said. “We had 16 lifetime best swims and two women swim under the qualifying time for NCAAs last year – Paige Madden and Morgan Hill. There is great competition here with four of the top-15 teams in the country and it’s fun to see our team step up to the challenge. We have a young team that is getting better by the day. I’m excited for the rest of the meet.”
The women’s team of Morgan Hill (Olney, Md.), senior Eryn Eddy (Loveland, Colo.), sophomore Kyla Valls (Miami, Fla.) and sophomore Marcella Maguire (Ridgefield, Conn.) opened the night’s session with a third-place finish and a time of 1:29.03 in the 200-yard freestyle relay. Hill captured the program’s third-fastest 50-yard freestyle time with her leadoff swim of 22.05.
The men’s 200-yard freestyle team of junior Ryan Baker (Arlington, Va.), sophomore Samuel Schilling (Excelsior, Minn.), freshman Justin Grender (Cincinnati, Ohio) and sophomore Cooper Wozencraft (Houston, Texas) recorded a time 1:19.11 for fourth place.
In the individual events, the Cavaliers advanced four swimmers to the top heat of tonight’s finals.
Sophomore Paige Madden (Mobile, Ala.) recorded the program’s seventh-fastest time in the 500-yard freestyle. She swam a time of 4:39.19, finishing fourth overall. Sophomore Abby Richter (Henderson, Nev.) led the team in the 200-yard individual medley, finishing sixth with a time of 1:57.85. Hill placed fifth in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 22.18, while Baker finished fifth in the men’s race with a time of 19.84.
Five Cavaliers swam in the B-finals of the 50-yard freestyle with Valls and Eddy placing 10th and 11th, respectively. Valls recorded a time of 22.84, while Eddy captured a time of 22.88. Senior Bryce Keblish (Fairfield, Conn.) led the men’s team with an 11th-place finish and a time of 20.50. Sophomore Samuel Schilling (Excelsior, Minn.) placed 13th with a time of 20.64, while junior Henry Keel (Memphis, Tenn.) captured a 14th-place finish and recorded a time of 20.65.
Additionally, freshman Sophie Skinner (Independence, Ky.) placed 12th in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:47.50 as sophomore Emma Seiberlich (Audubon, Pa.) placed 16th with a time of 4:47.75. Freshman Julia Menkhaus (Charlotte, N.C.) finished 14th in the 200-yard individual medley, recording a time of 1:59.80.
On the men’s side, sophomore Robby Giller (Wilton, Conn.) and senior Zach Fong (Moorestown, N.J.) placed 11th and 13th, respectively, in the 200-yard individual medley. Giller recorded a time of 1:45.54, while Fong swam a time of 1:46.19. Redshirt senior Brendan Casey (Santa Monica, Calif.) finished 11th in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:20.96.
Virginia concluded the day with a fourth-place finish in both 400-yard medley relay races. Richter, freshman Alexis Wenger (Detroit, Mich.), freshman Jessica Nava (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) and Hill recorded a time of 3:35.23, while Wozencraft, sophomore Keefer Barnum (Louisville, Ky.), Keblish and Baker recorded a time of 3:09.43. Additionally, the team of Grender, Wells, Fong and Schilling placed fifth in the men’s race with a time of 3:11.61.
Virginia will return to action tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. for day two of the Georgia Fall Invite.