Seahawks Second after First Day at CAC Championships

Complete Day 1 Results

St. Mary' City, Md. - Records fell left and right in the first day of competition at the 2009 Capital Athletic Conference Men's & Women's Swimming Championships hosted by St. Mary's College of Maryland from today until Sunday, February 15 when the team champions will be crowned.

In all, three conference championship records - the 200 free relay, the 500 free, and the 200 IM - were shattered with the 500 free and the 200 IM being broken twice in the same day by St. Mary's and the University of Mary Washington.

The Seahawks, who are currently second in the team standings with 192 points, also set three new school marks en route to their second-place standing after one day of competition.

St. Mary's foursome of senior captain Brie McDowell (Doylestown, Pa./Hatboro-Horsham), junior Rachel Hotchko (Yakima, Wash./A.C. Davis), sophomore Arielle Webster (Jarrettsville, Md./North Harford), and senior Eleanor Koerner (North Potomac, Md./T.S. Wootton) erased a CAC and school record with their NCAA provisional time of 1:36.27 in the 200 free relay. The defending champions in the event, the Seahawks snapped their school mark of 1:38.67 from a year ago, while surpassing Mary Washington's two-year old mark of 1:37.55.

En route to the school record in the 200 free relay, McDowell simply shattered the CAC and school records in the 50 free with her NCAA automatic qualifying time of 23.52. McDowell's first-place time displaced an 11-year old school mark of 24.45 set by Kim Crance in 1998.

The 500 free belonged to last year's CAC Rookie Swimmer of the Year, sophomore Sarah Crockett (Toano, Va./Lafayette), and her Mary Washington teammates as the Eagles were represented in seven of tonight's eight final spots. Crockett shattered the 10-year old championship mark of 5:08.63 in the prelims with her NCAA ‘B' cut of 5:04.31. Then she broke it again in the finals with her NCAA ‘A' cut of 4:58.79.

UMW's junior Nina Sawyer (Warrenton, Va./Liberty) notched an NCAA ‘B' cut as well as a CAC record in this morning's prelims for the 200 IM in 2:07.99, but had to settle for second place in tonight's finals as McDowell captured top billing with her NCAA automatic qualifying time of 2:05.48. McDowell also broke her own school mark of 2:08.37 from two years ago.

The Seahawks struck gold in the 400 medley relay as McDowell, sophomore Sofia Sokolove (Bethesda, Md./Bethesda-Chevy Chase), Hotchko, and Koerner posted an NCAA provisional cut as well as a CAC mark with their first-place time of 3:53.14. The quartet also set a school mark, while McDowell established the school mark and a conference record in the 100 back with her lead-off time of 56.62.

TEAM STANDINGS: 1. Mary Washington 280, 2. St. Mary's (Md.) 192, 3. Marymount (Va.) 106, 4. Salisbury 97, 5. York (Pa.) 78, 6. Hood 54, 7. Gallaudet 51.

EVENT

FIRST TEAM ALL-CAC

SECOND TEAM ALL-CAC

THIRD TEAM ALL-CAC

200 Free Relay

SMC - Brie McDowell, Rachel Hotchko, Arielle Webster, Eleanor Koerner

UMW - Adrianna Lesiuk, Christine Boyer, Sarah Crockett, Nina Sawyer

MMU - Anna Macedonia, Amanda Sperling, Meghan Morch, Emily Campbell

500 Free

UMW - Sarah Crockett

UMW - Megan DeSmit

UMW - Caroline DeLuca

200 IM

SMC - Brie McDowell

UMW - Nina Sawyer

SMC - Sofia Sokolove

50 Free

SMC - Eleanor Koerner

SMC - Rachel Hotchko

MMU - Emily Campbell

400 Medley Relay

SMC - Brie McDowell, Sofia Sokolove, Rachel Hotchko, Eleanor Koerner

UMW - Kelly Scott, Megan DeSmit, Nina Sawyer, Sarah Crockett

SU - Robin Stone, Kelly Closs, Katy Turner, Raienne South

SEAHAWK HIGHLIGHTS
Koerner retained her 50 free title with her NCAA ‘B' cut of 24.23, Hotchko took second team all-conference honors as she finished second in 24.52. Webster captured the consolation finals of the 50 free with her time of 25.55 to take ninth place.

Sokolove earned third team all-conference honors in the 200 IM with her time of 2:13.90.

Senior captain Nat Schaefer (Newtown, Pa./Council Rock North) was the Seahawks' top finisher in the 500 free with her time of 5:26.95 for 10th place, which was good for second in the consolation finals.