Both UR Swimming and Diving teams finished seventh at the in the University Athletic Association Championships in Atlanta over the weekend. The four-day event was hosted by Emory University.
The women’s team competed all four days and broke several school records. On day one, sophomores Paige Hayward and Jenna Zhang finished 13th and 17th in the first session of the one-meter board.
Day two saw the first school record shattered. Junior Becca Selznick broke the school record in the 500 freestyle by over a second and she finished 15th. The women’s relay for the 200 free included Selznick, first-year Sofia Guarnieri, sophomore Caitlynn Weeden, and sophomore Erica Hughes and finished seventh. The women’s 400 medley relay finished sixth with team of Hughes, sophomore Monica Jackson, junior Shannon Cahalan, and Weeden.
On day three, Selznick captured another school record. This time she broke the 200 freestyle in a 15th-place effort. Jackson finished 12th in the 100 butterfly. Hughes secured a 12th place finish in the 100 backstroke and first-year Kelsey Bartlett finished 23rd in the same event. Anna Cook finished 15th in the 400 individual medley as well. The 200 medley relay of Hughes, Jackson, Selznick, and first-year Shivi Gunawardne finished seventh, as did the 800 freestyle relay of first-year Amina N’Gambwa, junior Tess Minigell, first year Emma Dowd, and Weeden. The divers Hayward and Zhang finished 13th and 17th again, this time in the three-meter board.
Day four saw another record breaking performance, this time by Jackson. She broke the school record in the 200 breaststroke on her way to a ninth-place finish. Cahalan and senior Annie Thayer finished 13th and 15th in the 200 fly. Selznick finished 15th in the 100 free, with teammate Weeden finishing 22nd. Bartlett and Hughes brought home 15th and 19th place finishes in the 200 backstroke. In the 1,650 Minigell led the way with a 16th place finish, followed by first-years Abby Werwaiss and Emily Brzac finishing 21st and 22nd. The relay for day four was in the 400 free and consisted of Hughes, N’Gambwa, Selznick, and Weeden. They finished seventh.
The men’s team came out of the second day with two divers, senior Max Adler and sophomore Stephen Savchik, leading the way. They ranked fourth and seventh, respectively, and both qualified for the NCAA Championships in the three-meter board. The leading swimmer for the ‘Jackets was junior Danny Aronson. Aronson was able to get a 16th place finish for his team in the 50 freestyle. He was joined by teammates sophomore Eric Sonheim, senior Erik Rosenkranz, and junior Evan Villafranca in the 200 freestyle relay, a team that managed a seventh-place finish. The 400 medley relay also had a top-10 finish, ending the night in eight place. The medley was composed of first-year Eric Chang, senior Arlen Fan, senior Lee Stovall, and sophomore Eric Albuquerque.
Day three held a slew of top-20 finishes for the men. Junior Connor Virgile led the way with an 11th-place finish in the 100 backstroke. Sonheim finished 16th in the 200 freestyle and junior Eric Feirouz finished 19th in the 200 free. Junior Elliot Schwinn grabbed a 17th place finish in the 400 individual medley and Fan was the last individual to place in the top 20 on day two, finishing 17th in the 100 breaststroke. Two relays also got in on the action. The 200 medley relay consisted of Virgile, Fan, junior Paul Steve, and Aronson, and had a seventh-place finish. Stovall, Chang, Sonheim, and Feirouz worked together in the 800 freestyle and brought home an eighth place finish.
The final day of the meet, day four, qualified two divers for the NCAA Championships. Adler and Savchik finished with their best scores of their careers in the one-meter board. Adler finished fourth and Savchik got fifth. In the swimming events, Feirouz and Virgile both made the finals in the 200 backstroke. They finished 13th and 17th in the finals. Fan finished 24th in the 200 breaststroke, with sophomore Eric Weidman jumping him in the finals all the way up to a 19th place finish. The 400 freestyle relay of Feirouz, Chang, Aronson, and Rosenkranz finished 8th.
