University of Richmond Athletics
University of Richmond
Atlantic 10 Championships
Spiders Swimmers Close Gap After Day Two At A-10s
02/20/2015 | Women's Swimming & Diving
The foursome of Natalya Ares (Potomac, Maryland), Natalie Dowzicky (Collegeville, Pennsylvania), Annie Lane (Vinton, Virginia / William Byrd HS) and Kelley Yang (Ellicott City, Maryland) took a silver medal in the 200 Free relay from the last-seeded spot as Richmond closed the gap in day two of the Atlantic 10 Swimming and Diving Championships. The Spiders came in 38 points behind Massachusetts to start the day and not sit in second by 27 entering Friday's third day at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio.
The foursome swam in the first heat and posted a time, 1:33.11 that only Davidson could catch in the final heat of the event, which capped off the night for the women.
“Our freshmen were good today,” said head coach Matt Barany. “We still have a few who haven't swum an event yet, but we need more highlights. Tomorrow, we have more swims, but it will really be up to us to make the most out of those swims.“
The scoring began when Lane finished fifth by swimming her career-fastest time in the 500 Free (4:52.89) in the first final of the evening session. Only four Richmond swimmers have ever posted a faster time in the event. Junior Emma Terwilliger (Niskayna, New York) was eighth swimming in the finals for double-digit points for UR.
Freshman Hannah Verrette (Marblehead, Massachusetts) was the top finisher in the consolation final in the 200 IM, improving her preliminary time by nearly a second to help the team score.
Yang grabbed the team's first individual medal with a 23.10 time in the 50 Free final for third place and a bronze. It was a career-best time for her by almost two-tenths of a second, and the fourth-fastest 50 Free time in program history.
A busy Friday will feature five individual swimming events, the women's 3m diving and the 400 Medley relay to cap off the evening. Just 56 points separate the top five teams after two days.
Players Mentioned
