CAC Championships Day 1: One school record, two all-conference honors highlight start for SU
ST. MARY'S CITY, Md. - Two Salisbury University swimmers earned all-conference honors on the first day of the 2009 Capital Athletic Conference championships at the Athletics and Recreation Center on the campus of St. Mary's (Md.) College. The first 10 events are in the books and SU sits fourth overall in the women's championships with 97 points, just nine behind Marymount (Va.) University for third. The Sea Gull men's team is fifth with 94 points. University of Mary Washington, the eight-time defending conference champions, leads both competitions after the first day.
Junior Mike Ferrari finished third in the 200-yard IM with a time of 2:01.15. His third-place finish earns him All-CAC honors. Last year, Ferrari finished fourth in the same event. Mary Washington swept the top two spots as Stephen Clendenin set a new conference record with a time of 1:53.76. A new SU school record fell in the 400-yard medley relay as the team of sophomore Drew Robichaud, Ferrari, freshman Jason Preston and senior Benjamin Overholt finished fourth overall with a mark of 3:41.52. Robichaud, Ferrari and Overholt were members of last year's relay team that took five seconds off the old school record. UMW set a new conference mark with a time of 3:28.70.
On the women's side, the Sea Gulls finished third in the 400-yard medley relay as they edged out York (Pa.) College by three seconds as SU clocked in at 4:16.44. The team of freshmen Robin Stone and Kelly Closs along with sophomore Katy Turner and senior Raienne South earn all-conference recognition with the third-place finish. SU's 200-yard freestyle relay of Closs, Turner, South and freshman Jenna Petrella just missed third place with a time of 1:42.89 to place fourth overall. Mary Washington flexed its muscle and used its depth in the 500-yard freestyle to take the top six spots along with eighth place. The seven swimmers earned the Eagles 106 points, nearly 38 percent of their 280 points on the first day. That event is pivotal for the Eagles as the 106 points ties the point total for third-place Marymount and is better than the point totals of four other schools.
There were eight conference records set on the first day of the championships. The three-day championships continue Saturday, February 14, with the preliminaries at 10 a.m. and championship events at 6 p.m.
MEN'S TEAM SCORES (through 5 events): 1. Mary Washington 245, 2. York 177, 3. St. Mary's 148, 4. Marymount 116, 5. Salisbury 94, 6. Hood 63, 7. Gallaudet 50
WOMEN'S TEAM SCORES (through 5 events): 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
Also see:
2009 CAC Swimming Championships Results
- Day 1 - Finals (PDF)
- Day 1 - Prelims. (PDF)
