University of Richmond Athletics
University of Richmond
Oakland
Spiders Dominate Dual Meet At Duquesne
10/19/2013 | Women's Swimming & Diving
PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The Richmond swimming team dominated the dual meet at Duquesne, defeating the Dukes, 149-112, and the Oakland Grizzlies, 150-111, Saturday afternoon at Towers Pool.
The Spiders recorded their fourth-straight dual victory to start the season 4-0.
Richmond won six of the 14 events and recorded 15 top-three finishes en route to the victories. Freshman Maggie Pope and senior Mali Kobelja lead the Spiders with two titles each. Pope swept the backstroke events for her first collegiate wins, while Kobelja won gold in the 50 freestyle and the 200 IM.
"I love how willing the freshmen are to learn from their experienced teammates and coaches," commented Richmond head coach Matt Barany. "It creates an environment of eagerness. I think Maggie's races today reflect this. Maggie worked to improve her turns all week, and she won three events today. That's how you get better."
In addition to Pope and Kobelja, sophomore Kelley Yang dominated the 100 butterfly with a time of 56.17 that was two seconds faster than any other competitor. Yang also grabbed a second-place finish in the 50 freestyle.
"Mali and Kelley gave us an important push before the first break when they went 1-and-2 in the 50 free," added Barany. "Those two love to race and they love to win."
The 400 medley relay started the day off right for the Spiders for their first victory of the day. The quartet of Pope, Kobelja, Yang and Natalya Ares took a time of 3:53.86 to start the meet.
The Spiders will be back in action Saturday, Oct. 26 when the diving squad heads to Clemson, S.C., for competition starting at 1 p.m.
Swimming will enjoy a two-week break before heading to East Carolina to take on the Pirates and Limestone Saturday, Nov. 2 at 1 p.m. in Greenville, N.C.
Players Mentioned
