University of Richmond Athletics
University of Richmond
Rutgers
Richmond Races Past Rutgers for Senior Day Dual Win
01/21/2012 | Women's Swimming & Diving
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - Richmond Swim & Dive raced to wins in 11 of 14 swim events to earn its second win in as many weeks over a BIG EAST foe with a 163-135 victory over Rutgers in Saturday's home-finale. Senior Charlotte Brackett led the way with four wins for the Spiders that included a 1-2-3 senior sweep in the 200 free.
"Senior Day is already a special day because we recognize the seniors, but they made it an even more special day because of their efforts," said head coach Matt Barany. "Lexi's 1000 free swim and the seniors combining for 1-2-3 sweep in 200 free set the tone for us early."
"Charlotte obviously had a very special day as well," added Barany. "She'll continue to get better every day from here on out. She raced with a lot of confidence, and it's the right time of year for that. I'm pleased that we were able to get a win for her and our seniors today."
The Spiders opened the afternoon with a convincing win in the 400 medley relay. After junior Lauren Hines, sophomore Mali Kobelja and senior Jill Smaniotto handed Brackett the lead heading into her anchor leg, Brackett turned in a 52.61 free split to clinch the win with a combined time of 3:48.74.
Brackett (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park) was right back at it in the 200 free, clocking a top time of 1:53.90 to pave the way for the Spider 1-2-3 finish. Classmates Michelle Johnson (Levittown, Pa./Nazareth Academy) and Liz Cohan (Madison, Conn./Daniel Hand) completed the sweep with times of 1:55.42 and 1:55.46, respectively.
Brackett's golden day would continue in the 50 free, as the British Olympic Trials qualifier sprinted to the win in a time of 23.96 ahead of Spider junior Mina Vucic (Bethesda, Md./Walter Johnson), who touched the wall in 24.25 for a runner-up finish. The tandem would go 1-2 again in the 100 free, with Brackett taking top honors in 52.43 and Vucic just behind in 52.54.
Senior Alexi Kuska (Westfield, N.J./Westfield Senior) continued the team's momentum with a wire-to-wire victory in the 1000 free, shaving eight seconds off her season-best to clock a top time of 10:20.28. Sophomore Jessie Krebs (Towson, Md./Towson) captured the second spot in 10:23.22.
After sweeping the back races barely eluded her last week at Pitt, Hines (Roanoke, Va./Hidden Valley) easily accomplished the feat on Saturday. She turned in a time of 56.18 to win the 100 back before returning to the water to top the field in the 200 portion of the event by more than three seconds with a time of 2:04.91.
Kobelja (Fort Wayne, Ind./R. Nelson Snider) followed Brackett's lead and came away with an impressive four wins on the day as well. The sophomore standout, who bested the field in the 100 breast (1:04.43) to open the day, touched in 56.76 for a top finish the 100 fly and returned after the ensuing diving break to take gold in the 200 IM with a season-best showing of 2:02.90.
"It was easy to get on board after our seniors set the tone for us early on," said Kobelja. "Being in front of our home crowd is always a motivator, but knowing this was the last time our seniors will swim here really sparked the team today."
"Coming into the meet, we knew we'd have to fight after seeing the results from Rutgers' meet against JMU last night," added Kobelja. "But Lexi went out and got the win in the 1000 free and our seniors followed her lead with a 1-2-3 sweep in the 200 free, so we just rode that momentum throughout the day. It was exciting to be a part of this, and I'm happy to send our seniors out with a win."
Richmond wraps up the dual season on Saturday when it travels to Durham, N.C., for a double dual meet with host Duke and Clemson. The Spiders' season-finale is set to start at 11 a.m. in the Blue Devils' Taishoff Aquatic Pavilion.
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Players Mentioned
