University of Richmond Athletics
Spiders Log Another Atlantic 10 Record And Extend Lead After Three Days At The Atlantic 10 Championships
02/17/2006 | Women's Swimming & Diving
Feb. 17, 2006
Complete Results
BUFFALO, N.Y. - The Richmond Swimming and Diving team extended its lead to 199 points after day three of the Atlantic 10 Championships Friday, Feb. 17, in Buffalo, N.Y. The Spiders' freshman Lauren Beaudreau set another Atlantic 10 mark with a 1:02.20 in the 100 breast, after earning the A-10 record in the 200 IM Thursday night. Richmond ended the night with 509 points, 199 in front of second-place St. Bonaventure which has recorded 310 points heading into the final day of competition at the Flickinger Athletic Center on the campus of Erie Community College.
"Once again we showed improvement throughout the session," head coach Matt Barany said. "Not only did Anastasia (Lau) and Lauren (Beaudreau) get the record in the 100 breast during the prelims, Lauren came back and swam a great race to get the A-10 mark again."
Sophomore Jessica Witt opened Friday's final session with a 4:18.34 to take home the gold in the 400 IM. Not far behind Witt was juniors Kara Swift and Caitlin Geary, who finished second and third in the event, marking another sweep for the Spiders. Witt's time ranks as the second-fastest all-time for the Spiders, while Swift's second-place time of 4:24.94 is the fourth-fastest ever at Richmond.
Freshman CJ Pisano qualified for the consolation finals in the 100 fly with a 59.46. The Parsippany, N.J., native came back with a 58.47 in the evening session to win the consolation final and push her name into seventh on the all-time list at Richmond.
Junior Emily Bateman (1:53.40) and senior Anne Kirchner (1:53.80) finished second and fourth, respectively in the 200 free final. Junior Holly Hinds later picked up nine more points for Richmond by winning the consolation finals in the 200 free with a 1:55.40.
Next up was Beaudreau in the 100 breast. Earlier in the day's prelims, sophomore Anastasia Lau logged a 1:04.45 in the event to tie the school record set by Calla DeRuosi in 2004. Beaudreau later broke the school mark and the A-10 mark with her 1:03.00 in the prelims. In the evening session, the Lafayette, Calif., native logged a 1:02.20 to up the old school mark by more than two seconds and the previous A-10 mark by 1.5 seconds. Her time, an NCAA B-cut time, is also just 0.5 seconds off an automatic NCAA qualifying time.
Freshman Brie McDowell finished third in the 100 back with a 57.69, marking the fifth-fastest time in school history. Fellow freshman Cara Smaniotto logged a 59.07 in the 100 back finals to earn sixth and 13 points for the Spiders.
Richmond put the finishing touches on a successful third day with a gold-medal finish in the 400 medley relay. The team, including McDowell, Beaudreau, Witt and Bateman, finished with a 3:50.14, almost five seconds in front of Duquesne's second-place mark of 3:54.35. McDowell's back lead-off of 58.82 was the fastest of her season and tied Beaudreau for the best 100 back time this season. Beaudreau's 1:02.74 split in the breast portion of the event, bettered her previous top split of 1:06.54 by almost four seconds. Witt's 56.67 in the fly leg of the relay ranks as the fastest 100 fly time logged by the Spiders this season, and Bateman's 100 free split of 51.91 is the fastest time logged by a Spider this season.
In the team standings, UMass follows the Bonnies in third with a 283 total, while Duquesne sits in fourth with 272 points. Xavier (263) Saint Louis (235), Fordham (203), George Washington (165), La Salle (126) and Rhode Island (87) round out the final six squads after three days of competition.
"These women created a vision of what they wanted to accomplish prior to arriving here," Barany said. "Often in athletics we set goals, some of which are at the highest level possible -- we are seeing each of their goals being achieved each session we swim. Each of these three days we have improved. I can't wait to see what we can accomplish tomorrow."
The final day of the 2006 Atlantic 10 Championships gets underway, Saturday, Feb. 18 at 10:30 a.m. with prelims in the 200 back, 100 free, 200 breast, 200 fly and the three-meter diving event. Saturday evening's finals will begin at 6:30 p.m. and will include the 1,650 free and 400 free relay.
