McDowell Takes Fourth at NCAAs
Minneapolis, Minn. - Brie McDowell (Doylestown, Pa./Hatboro-Horsham) ended her career as the most decorated Seahawk swimmer, claiming her fifth career All-America honor Saturday as the 2009 NCAA Division III Men's & Women's Swimming & Diving Championships came to a close at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center.
The 2007 and 2009 Capital Athletic Conference Women's Swimmer-of-the-Year, McDowell notched the program's highest-ever finish at the NCAAs as she finished fourth in the 200 backstroke event in 2:01.32, just under a second out of third place behind Emory University's Tess Pasternak (2:00.69). Carolyn Barer of Kenyon College won the event in 2:00.15 after finishing third in the prelims (2:00.47).
The senior captain, who had entered the 200 back seeded first (2:00.92), came in second in the morning's preliminary swim as she touched the wall in a school record time of 2:00.32 behind Pasternak's 1:59.54.
To recap, McDowell earned three All-America citations with a fourth-place finish in the 200 back, a ninth-place finish in the 100 back and a 10th-place finish in the 200 individual medley event. The holder of 12 school marks (8 individual, 4relay), she picked up the program's first-ever All-America awards at the 2007 NCAA Championships with her ninth-place finishes in the 100 and 200 back.
Junior Rachel Hotchko (Yakima, Wash./A.C. Davis) wrapped up her second consecutive trip to the NCAAs by finishing 60th in the 100 freestyle event in 54.49. Hotchko registered her career-best finish thus far at NCAA championships as she took 23rd in the 100 butterfly event on Thursday.
Kenyon's dominance of the NCAA swimming championships continued as the Lords captured its 30th consecutive NCAA men's championship title, while the Kenyon women won their third straight team national crown and 23rd overall.
St. Mary's finished 22nd out of 56 teams with 31 points.
This was the fourth consecutive season that St. Mary's has been represented at the NCAA championships, which were hosted this year by Macalester College at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center. It was the first-time ever that the men's and women's swimming championships were held at the same time and place.
