The University of Mary Washington men's and women's swimming teams stand on the brink of another Capital Athletic Conference championship, as both teams again dominated on Saturday night finals of the event at St. Mary's College.
The women kicked off the night session by taking first in the 200 yard medley relay with a time of 1:45.49, five seconds better than their season best. Members of that team were Katie Fago, Amber Kerico, Hannah Hagy, and Stephanie Hallock. The men's team was disqualified.
Freshman Abby Cox finished second in the 400 IM with a lifetime best 4:33.73, and Kristen Callahan placed third. Ryan McGhee took second in the men's 400 IM at 4:17.33, followed in third by Zach Eisig and in fourth by Nate Moyar.
Amber Kerico broke her own CAC record in the 100 yard butterfly with a strong NCAA B cut of 55.77, with Hannah hagy taking second and Elizabeth Lewan taking third. The Eagle men made an unprecedented run in the 100 fly, finishing 1-2-3-4-5-6. Sophomore Alex Anderson took top honors, breaking his own CAC record and qualifying automatically for the NCAA Championships at 48.97. He was followed by Michael Yelmgren, Vince Dunn, Matt Arnold, Sean Mayer, and Tom Rinaldi.
The women's 200 freestyle saw Eagles finish 1-2-3-4-5, with Jessica Singer finishing first at 1:54.33. She was followed by Tara Banks, Stephanie Hallock, Robin Brazier, and Ashley Walnut. Senior Nick Eckhoff took first on the men's side, winning at 1:40.13, breaking the CAC record and qualifying provisionally for the NCAA Championships.
Amber Kerico won the 100 yard breastsroke at 1:03.91, nearly gaining an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships and breaking the CAC record. Hannah Hagy finished second, and Alex Parrish third for UMW. Peter Slattery took second on the men's side.
Katie Fago led the charge in the 100 backstroke, as the Eagles finished 1-2-3-4. Lindsay Ancellotti was second, Meredith Thompson third, and Catherine Perrin fourth. The men saw Michael Yelmgren finish first in the 100 back at 51.38, qualifying provisionally for NCAAs and breaking the conference record. Sean Mayer was second and Tom Rinaldi third.
In the 800 free relay, the women finished first at 7:43.47, a new championship record. That relay included Amber Kerico, Robin Brazier, Tara Banks, and Jessica Singer. The men also took first, as Alex Anderson, Jack McHugh, Sean Mayer, and Nick Eckhoff touched out at 6:48.18, a provisional NCAA time and new conference record. Anderson's leadoff leg proved to be a new conference record in the 200, and qualified him automatically again for the NCAA meet.