University of Richmond Athletics
University of Richmond
A-10 Championship - Day Two
Swimming Sweeps Individual Events To Increase Lead At A-10 Championships
02/21/2008 | Women's Swimming & Diving
Feb. 21, 2008
BUFFALO, N.Y. - The University of Richmond swimming team won all three individual events Thursday night, extending its lead in the 2008 Atlantic 10 Championships in Buffalo, N.Y. Jessica Witt took gold in the 500 free, Lauren Beaudreau won the 200 IM and Katie Sieben captured the 50 free. With 247 points, the Spiders extended their advantage over second-place Xavier to 63.
Richmond, searching for its unprecedented seventh-consecutive A-10 title, had 12 swimmers in the pool on Thursday night and got personal-bests out of nine of them.
"We're swimming well right now," said head coach Matt Barany. "We got great swims tonight from our upperclassmen and our freshmen continue to give us important contributions."
A senior All-American, Witt captured the gold medal in the first event of Thursday night's finals - the 500 free. The senior put 20 points on the board for the Spiders in winning the event in 4:54.75.
Also in the event, a pair of freshmen -- Hannah Marlow - finished in the points and set personal-records. Brodt's time of 5:00.89 was good for fourth and now ranks the rookie sixth all-time in Richmond history, while Marlow's time of 5:05.50 was good for sixth.
In the 200 IM, Beaudreau raced to the wall first in a time of 2:02.05 to earn the Spiders 20 more points. Sophomore Beth Ann Platt and junior Cara Smaniotto each scored points and set personal records, with Platt taking fifth (2:06.03) and Smaniotto capturing seventh (2:06.91).
The 50 free was Thursday's final individual event and Sieben was on the receving end of the gold medal with a time of 23.56. Sophomore Alex Helland took seventh (24.16).
But the biggest story of the night came in the 200 free relay when the Spiders finished second, marking their first relay loss in A-10 Championship action since 2006. Richmond's team of Kylie Francis, Helland and Sieben finished in 1:34.63, with Duquesne nipping them at the wall by .31 seconds.
"We recognized the importance of today," said Barany. "Not just for us, but for the other teams in contention. The lead we have going into tomorrow is important, but we must remain cautious and understand there is a lot of work yet to be done."
The Championship resumes Friday morning with preliminary action in the 400 IM, 100 fly, 200 free, 100 breast and 100 back. The meet concludes Saturday evening.
Heading into Friday, Richmond leads with 247 points, followed by Xavier (184), Duquesne (172), Massachusetts (156) and Fordham (155) in the top-five of the 10-team women's meet. Massachusetts extended its lead on the men's side.
Stay tuned to RichmondSpiders.com for live scoring and live video streaming during competition, followed by recaps and results each evening.
