Karina Stridh Named UAA Women's Rookie of the Year

RESULTS

Chicago, Ill., February 14, 2009 - The Washington University men’s swimming team placed third, and the women’s team came in sixth, as the 2009 University Athletic Association (UAA) Championships concluded on Saturday, Feb. 14, at the Ratner Athletics Center in Chicago, Ill. Washington U. freshman Karina Stridh was named the 2009 UAA Women’s Rookie of the Year at the end of Saturday’s action.

Stridh, who won the 50-yard freestyle on Friday, added the 100-yard freestyle championship during Saturday’s action. She won with a Washington University school-record time of 50.94, which was an automatic NCAA Division III Championship qualifying time, in addition to a UAA and Myers-McLoraine pool record.

The men’s 400-freestyle relay team represented the other Washington U. UAA Champion from Saturday’s action. The foursome of senior Kevin Leckey, freshman Jordan Branham, junior Dan Arteaga and sophomore David Chao submitted in NCAA ‘B’ cut time and Myers-McLoraine pool record of 3:03.10.

Sophomore Michael Flanagan was the runner-up in the 200-yard butterfly with an NCAA provisional mark of 1:52.47, and junior Dima Galkin came in third in the 200-yard breaststroke with a season-best and ‘B’ cut time of 2:05.37.

Leckey and Chao took third and fourth respectively in the men’s 100-yard freestyle final, both eclipsing NCAA provisional standards with times of 45.7 and 46.12. Also submitting an NCAA qualifying mark for the Bears was freshman Chris Valach, who was sixth in the 1,650-yard freestyle with a season-best mark of 16:03.93.

In women’s action, the Red and Green’s 400-freestyle relay team picked up a second-place finish. Senior Kelly Kono, junior Jessie Lodewyk, Stridh and freshman Sam Schulte set a provisional season-best time of 3:32.15. Lodewyk also turned in a season-best provisional mark of 17:21.19, in the 1,650-yard freestyle.

The Bears will have one more chance to see student-athletes qualify for the 2009 NCAA Division III Championships, when they compete at the Midwest Invitational, held Friday-Saturday, Feb. 20-21, in Chicago, Ill.

Men's Swimming Moves Up to Third on Second Day of UAA's

RESULTS

Chicago, Ill., February 13, 2009 - The Washington University men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams continued action in the 2009 University Athletic Association (UAA) Championships on Friday, Feb. 13, at the Ratner Athletics Center in Chicago, Ill., and the men’s team moved up to third place overall while the women’s team is ranked sixth after two days of competition.

The WU men’s 800-free relay team of freshman Chris Valach, junior Alex Beyer, sophomore David Chao and senior Kevin Leckey represented the Bears’ only UAA Championship win on Friday. The foursome teamed to win the race in 6:45.54, which set new UAA, Myers-McLoraine and Washington University records.

The men’s team turned in a pair of other all-UAA performances during Friday’s action. Beyer was the runner-up in the 400-yard individual medley, with a NCAA ‘B’ cut time of 4:02.41, and junior Dan Arteaga placed third in the 100-yard butterfly, submitting a time of 51.72.

Junior Dima Galkin broke the WU school record in 100-yard breaststroke. He came in fourth in the final with a time of 57.77, but his preliminary mark of 57.04 on Friday morning broke the old school record of 57.25. The Bears also turned in a provision NCAA time with a fourth-place finish in the 200-medley relay. Leckey, Galkin, Arteaga and Chao swam a season-best time of 1:34.28 in the relay.

The WU women saw a pair of relay squads grab all-UAA honors, the 200-medley relay and the 800-free relay. The team of freshman Karina Stridh, senior Kelly Kono, freshman Samantha Schulte and junior Jessie Lodewyk came in second in the 800-free relay with a WU season-best NCAA provisional time of 7:38.28.

Sophomore Claire Henderson, freshman Catherine Rafferty-Millett, sophomore Karin Underwood and Stridh comprised the third-place 200-medley relay team, finishing with a season-best provisional time of 1:47.85. Stridh also turned in the Bears’ top performance in the 200-yard freestyle, winning the B-Final with a season-best provisional mark of 1:54.16.

The 2009 UAA Championships will conclude on Saturday, Feb. 14, with preliminary action at 10 a.m. The final six conference championships will be decided, with finals action scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.

Stridh, Men's 200-Free Relay, Win UAA Championships on Friday

RESULTS

Chicago, Ill., February 12, 2009 - The Washington University men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams began action in the 2009 University Athletic Association (UAA) Championships on Thursday, Feb. 12, at the Ratner Athletics Center in Chicago, Ill., and through one day of competition the men’s squad is ranked fourth, and the WU women are in fifth place.

Both the men’s and women’s teams featured a conference champion during Friday’s action. For the women, freshman Karina Stridh continued her dominant performances in the 50-yard freestyle, winning the championship with an NCAA automatic qualifying cut of 23.38. She also set a new Washington University, UAA Championship and Myers-McLoraine Pool record.

The Washington U. men’s 200-freestyle relay team represented the school’s other conference champion. Senior Kevin Leckey, junior Dan Arteaga, senior Kyle Ota and sophomore David Chao submitted an NCAA ‘B’ cut and Myers-McLoraine pool record of 1:23.30 in the final.

Freshman Chris Valach and junior Brian Kushner both qualified for the men’s 500-yard freestyle final. Valach came in fourth place (4:36.23) and Kushner placed sixth (4:37.76) as both Bears eclipsed NCAA ‘B’ standards. The men’s squad also saw two individuals submit NCAA provisional marks in the 50-yard freestyle. Sophomore David Chao placed fourth in the 50-free (21.13), and Leckey won the 50-free B-Final with a time of 20.81, which would have ranked second had he qualified for the championship final on Friday morning.

Both the men’s and women’s 400-medley relay teams turned in provisional cuts. The men’s team comprised of freshman Billy Griffitts, junior Dima Galkin, Arteaga and sophomore Kartik Anjur, came in sixth place with a time of 3:27.90. The WU women turned in a season-best relay time of 3:55.50, which was good for a third-place finish and All-UAA honors.

Junior Jessie Lodewyk and senior Kelly Kono both swam to provisional times in the 500-free. Qualifying for the championship final, Lodewyk placed fifth with a time of 5:01.68, and Kono won the B-Final in 5:04.65.

Sophomore Karin Underwood won the women’s B-Final in the 200-yard individual medley, finishing in 2:09.80, a mark that would have ranked fourth had she qualified for the championship heat.

The 2009 UAA Championships will resume on Friday, Feb. 13, with preliminary action at 10 a.m. Six more conference titles will be decided on Friday night, with finals action scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.