UVA Swimming and Diving wins 14 events against Notre Dame

The Virginia men’s and women’s swimming and diving team won 14 of 20 events on the first day of a two-day meet against Notre Dame Friday evening (Jan. 8) at the Aquatic and Fitness Center.

The No. 1 Virginia women lead 137-49 after the first day, while the No. 21 Cavalier men have a 106.5-79.5 advantage over the Fighting Irish.

“It was a very solid day overall,” UVA head coach Augie Busch said. “We had a bunch of in-season best times considering the amount of training we have stocked in to the last 10 to 12 days. With about 90 percent of training being long course and all of it being very intense, this was a good first day of the meet.”

Senior Carl Buergler (Arlington, Va.) swept the men’s diving events to begin the day, capturing the 1-meter event with a score of 324.45 and the 3-meter event with a mark of 376.65. Fellow senior Colby Shinholser (Burtonsville, Md.) was second on both boards (275.25 on 1m, 313.65 on 3m, and sophomore Jake Bowtell (Dairen, Conn.) was third on 1m with 273.45 points.

In women’s 3-meter diving, senior Becca Corbett (Louisville, Ky.) was second with a score of 300.60, while freshman Kylie Towbin (New Canaan, Conn.) was third with a mark of 287.33. Corbett also finished third on 1-meter with a score of 265.27.

“I’m really happy with how the divers performed today,” UVA head diving coach Jason Glorius said. “We continue on an upward swing and get better and better at each meet. We had a lot of season-best scores today for both the men and women.”

Junior Leah Smith (Pittsburgh, Pa.) broke the Aquatic and Fitness Center pool record in the women’s 500 free in a time of 4:39.75. Senior Hanne Borgersen (Frederick, Md.) was second in 4:49.61 and sophomore Cece Williams (Tallahassee, Fla.) was third in 4:51.55.

In the men’s 500 free, freshmen Sam Magnan (Bethlehem, Pa.) and Dan Golczewski (Bel Air, Md.) went 1-2 in 4:28.18 and 4:31.30, respectively.

Senior Courtney Bartholomew (Holland, Mich.) captured the women’s 200 IM race in 1:59.35, while sophomore Jennifer Marrkand (Westport, Mass.) was second in 2:00.28. Senior Haley Durmer (Decatur, Ga.) posted a third-place time of 2:03.54.

Junior Austin Quinn (Chagrin Falls, Ohio) touched first in the men’s 200 IM in 1:49.38, while freshman Zach Fong (Moorestown, N.J.) was third in 1:50.63.

In the women’s 100 breast, junior Laura Simon (Simmern, Germany) won in a time of 1:01.09, just ahead of freshman Vivian Tafuto (Hummelstown, Pa.) in 1:01.38.

The Cavaliers went 1-2-3 in the men’s 100 breast with freshman Murat Yildirim (Istanbul, Turkey) finishing just ahead of senior Eric Holden (Orange, Conn.) and freshman Alex Albracht (Mission Hills, Kan.). Yildirim’s time was 56.23.

Bartholomew won her second event of the day in the women’s 200 back in 1:55.21, with freshman Megan Moroney (Deerfield Beach, Fla.) earning second in 1:59.06. Quinn also won his second event of the day in the men’s 200 back in 1:46.98.

Junior Ellen Thomas (Guildford, United Kingdom) touched first in the women’s 100 free in 49.84, while sophomore Caitlin Cooper (Atlanta, Ga.) was second in 50.45.

The Cavaliers also went 1-2-3 in the women’s 200 fly with Marrkand winning in 1:57.29, while freshmen Rachel Politi (Bexley, Ohio) and Peyton Baldwin (Newport News, Va.) finished in 2:02.83 and 2:02.98, respectively.

Fong placed second in the men’s 200 fly in 1:48.26. Sophomore Nicholas Magana (Scottsdale, Ariz.) was third in men’s 100 free with a time of 45.38.

The Cavalier women swept the two relays on the day with the team of freshman Kasey Schmidt (St. Augstine, Fla.), Thomas, Cooper and Bartholomew claiming the 200 free relay in 1:31.15 and the foursome of Bartholomew, Simon, Marrkand and Thomas winning the 400 medley relay in 3:38.48.

The men’s 200 free relay of junior Matt Lockman (Charlottesville, Va.), Magana, freshman Gust Kouvaris (Troy, Mich.) and sophomore Luke Georgiadis (Jacksonville, Fla.) was second in 1:22.92, while the 400 medley relay of Quinn, Yildirim, Fong and Magana was also second in 3:19.14.

The two teams conclude the meet Saturday (Jan. 9) at noon. The Cavaliers will hold a special ceremony for its 15 seniors at11:40 a.m. Admission to home meets at the AFC are free to the public.