University of Richmond Athletics
University of Richmond
Atlantic 10 Championships
Spiders Post 198 Points Friday at A-10 Championships
02/22/2014 | Women's Swimming & Diving
The Richmond swimming and diving team made it 4-for-4 in team relays, while sophomore Kelley Yang (Ellicott City, Md.) and senior Mali Kobelja (Fort Wayne, Ind.) won individual titles to wrap up day three of the 2014 Atlantic 10 Swimming and Diving Championships at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio Friday.
The 400 Medley Relay team of Kobelja, Yang, freshman Maggie Pope (Nashville, Tenn.) and sophomore Natalya Ares (Potomac, Md.) won the double-points event at the end of the night to push Richmond's team lead out to 116.5 with one day left to compete. After scoring 198 points Friday, the Spiders have 434.5 points, with Fordham in second at 318 and Massachusetts in third with 289.
“We had some nerves early in the week, but we got through that and I thought today we were the best we have been at the meet,” said head coach Matt Barany. “We have been playing defense on the starts in the relays to not get disqualified so we have left a little time out there, but we have been strong to finish these days.”
Senior Mariel Kush (Souderton, Pa.) got the scoring started in the opening event, the 400 Individual Medley, finishing eighth for 11 Spider points.
“It all started with Mariel this morning,” said Barany. “Her energy really got us going and we found sources of energy from different people all day long.”
Yang posted a 54.81 in the 100 Butterfly for the team's first medal of the day. It was Yang's first solo win of the week after earning second in the 50 Freestyle on Thursday.
Ares claimed a medal with a second-place finish in the 200 Freestyle, with junior teammate Allison Titley (Richmond, Va. / Saint Gertrude) coming in fourth for 15 points.
Kobelja took her second first-place finish of the week with a 1:01.82 in the 100 Breaststroke, good enough to qualify for an NCAA “B” time in the event. It was more than two full seconds better than her season-best time, edging her career-best time in the event by six hundredths of a second. Senior Erin Brady (Tyngsboro, Mass.) finished fourth for 15 points, and freshman Erin Dunstan (New Canaan, Conn.) was eighth for 11 more points for the team, their highest-scoring event of the day. All three Richmond swimmers posted career-best marks in the event finals..
Pope scored the last individual points of the day in the 100 Backstroke, posting a fifth-place finish and 14 points, her highest scoring individual event of the meet so far.
Saturday will conclude the Championship, with the preliminary rounds to begin at 10:30 a.m. The 200 Backstroke, 100 Freestyle, 200 Breaststroke and 200 Butterfly will be contested, with the 3m Diving Championships to hit the pool in the final day, along with the 1650 Freestyle and 400 Freestyle Relay to cap off the night.
Players Mentioned
