University of Richmond Athletics
Spiders Host Richmond Duals To Start 15-16 Season
10/15/2015 | Women's Swimming & Diving
Richmond swimming and diving will begin its 2015-16 season by hosting its second Richmond Duals, this Friday and Saturday at two venues. The divers will compete on campus, while the swimmers will compete at SwimRVA, the Collegiate School Aquatics Center. The action gets underway with diving at 4:30 p.m. on campus Friday evening, with swimming beginning at 5 p.m. Saturday, diving begins the day at 9:30 a.m. on campus, while the swimming starts at 10 a.m. at the Aquatics Center.
The two-day event is essentially three dual meets, over the two days. On the women's side, Richmond and George Mason will square off Friday, with Davidson and Duquesne competing that day as well. The two teams with the highest scores will compete Saturday, with the other two in competition against one another on day two. The George Mason and Davidson men will compete in a single dual meet, stretched over the two days. The female divers will dive on both the 1m and 3m springboards both days, while the men will dive one board each day.
Last season, the Spiders beat Davidson Friday (163.5-135.5) and George Mason Saturday (163-134) to claim the team title. Davidson defeated Duquesne in the Saturday meet. The Mason men won over Davdison (229-179) in their two-day meet.
"We have experience over at that pool," said head swimming coach Matt Barany. "It is very fast over there. Fortunately with this group, we won't hold any punches. Last year's A-10 meet was a bundle heading into the last day and we don't see a lot of A-10 teams during the season, so it's nice to have them in for this event and to have them in Richmond. I think the girls have trained well and I think they feel confident in their training."
The four women's teams will swim in alternating heats of all of the scheduled events on Friday and Saturday, but will score against only the team they compete with in that day's action. The only difference from last season is the addition of the 1,650-yard freestyle, replacing the 1,000-yard freestyle. The A-10 has mandated that distance swimmers post a 1,650 free time during the year and that 1,000 freestyle times would no longer be accepted for seeding at the championships, so the Spiders are offering the ability to post that time, as most dual meets do not normally hold a 1,650 free event.
This is the first action as a team for Richmond since securing the 2015 Atlantic 10 Championship, where Richmond diver Irina Chiulli (Westwood, Massachusetts) won the school's first A-10 Diver of the Year award, and Annie Lane (Vinton, Virginia / William Byrd HS) captured A-10 Swimming Rookie of the Year back in February. The Spiders lost six student-athletes from last year's team, but added four freshmen and a junior transfer to the squad for 2015-16. Seniors Kelley Yang (Ellicott City, Maryland) and Melissa Ross (Warrington, Pennsylvania) were named to the Atlantic 10 All-Conference Team. Yang won three medals and set a new meet record in the 100 Fly. Ross won gold in the 200 Fly at the Championships, her first medal at the meet.
George Mason finished sixth in the women's A-10 Championship meet, just four points out of fifth-place Fordham. The women's program captured six medals in total for the meet, including gold medals in the 200 Back and 200 Breast on the final day of competition
Duquesne came in third at the Championships. The Dukes won eight medals and broke the school record in all five team relays at the 2015 meet in Ohio.
Davidson was fourth at the A-10s in their first year in the conference. Swimmer Elise Lankiewicz was named the Most Outstanding Swimmer, winning gold medals in the 500 Free, 200 Free and 100 Free, while helping the Wildcats win gold in three relays.
On the men's side, George Mason was third, with Davidson finishing sixth.
The Collegiate School facility will have plenty of parking in the lots and on the street for overflow. Parking on campus will be in front of the Weinstein Center, adjacent to the Robins Center.
Richmond will provide live video on the A-10 Network, with links posted at RichmondSpiders.com. You can purchase a 24-hour viewing window through the viewer that gets you swimming or diving viewing. Take advantage of that value by waiting to purchase your day pass until Friday's session begins to be sure to get both days' sessions for the single-day pass price price!
Players Mentioned
