Husky Invitational: Day Two

FEDERAL WAY, Washington, December 5. FRIDAY was a historical day for the University of Washington swim team at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center as they continued to re-write the record books on day two of the 60th annual Husky Invitational.

In all, two individuals and one relay set school records on the day with nine individuals and two relays also earning NCAA B times. The UW women sit in second place in the team standings with 885 points, trailing only USC, which has 923. The UW men sit fourth heading into the final day with 632 points, trailing Cal, USC and UC Santa Barbara.

Senior Evan Bernier (Woodinville, Wash.) set his third career school record, finishing third in the 100 back in 47.82 seconds and earning NCAA consideration. Bernier was being chased by fellow senior Jon Banker, who finished fourth in the race in 47.98 to also earn and NCAA B time and move up to No. 2 all time in UW history. Bernier had already earned a B time in the prelims when he missed the school record by two-tenths of a second, but he came back in the finals to take over the record.

The men's 800 free relay also broke a school record which had been held since 2004. Bernier, Scott Spansail, David Bai and Ben Aaberg teamed up to swim a time of 6:30.24, which was an NCAA B time and also moved them into the record books. They finished second in the race behind Cal.

Genevieve Patterson was a record-breaker for the women, as she set a new school record in the 100 breast. Already having earned an NCAA B time in the event in the Texas A&M Invitational, Patterson lowered that time in the finals Friday when she was clocked at 1:00.56 to finish second in the race and move onto the top of the UW charts. Her previous top time was 1:01.33.

The women simply dominated the 200 free race, taking the top four spots and five of the top six. Petra Radovic led the way, winning the race in 1:47.04 which moved her up to No. 3 all time and earned her NCAA consideration. Freshman Kelly Flynn finished second in 1:48.73, lowering her personal-best time which ranks No. 6 all time. Amelia Messegee was third followed by Liz Johnson in fourth, while Ally Rich finished sixth, with her time just missing the all-time top 10 by .01. Mesegee's 200 free prelim time of 1:49.22 moved her into eighth all time while Johnson's prelim time of 1:49.56 ranks 10th all time.

Junior Erin Campbell also continued to be a consistent threat for the Huskies. She earned another NCAA B time, this one coming in the 100 fly. She won the race in 53.07 after earning a B time in the prelims when she swam 53.52. She holds the school record in the event, swimming 52.61 last season.

Campbell also led the 800 free relay to an NCAA B time, swimming a lead-off 200 time of 1:49.07 which ranks No. 7 all time at UW. Campbell was followed by Radovic, Flynn and Messegee, who won the race in a time of 7:14.01.

Freshman Hannah Ross was the final woman to earn an NCAA B time Friday, which she swam in the 100 back. She finished second in the finals in 54.30, moving past Campbell into No. 2 all time in UW history.

Other women performing well Friday were Danielle Gong, who finished second in the 400 IM in 4:17.53 which smashed her old career best of 4:22.14 and moved her from No. 8 all time to No. 2. Her sister, Jen, finished third in the finals in a season best of 4:19.49.

Finally on the women's side, Marisa Chang moved up to No. 3 all time in 100 fly with a time of 54.96, finishing sixth in the event.

The men had three additional swimmers earn B times, including Spansail, Russ Mahan and Yonatan Cohen. Spansail just missed his third school record of the year, as his time of 1:36.63 in the prelims of the 200 free moved him from No. 10 all time to No. 2. He earned an NCAA B time and went on to finish fourth in the finals in 1:37.61

Mahan and Cohen finished second and third, respectively, in the 100 breast, with Mahan moving up to No. 2 all time with his time of 53.99. Cohen, meanwhile, also set a new personal best, finishing in 54.30 to rank No. 3 all time. Both swimmers earned NCAA B times.

Also swimming well for the men were Banker, who improved to No. 5 all time in the 400 IM with a prelim time of 3:54.01, and David Bai, who moved up to No. 6 all time in the 200 free with a prelim time of 1:38.19. He went on to finish sixth in the finals in 1:38.82. Ben Aaberg finished 10th in the same race in 1:38.39, the ninth-fastest time in school history.

"Scott (Spansail) swam great and Petra (Radovic) had a heck of a day. Our relays were really great. And Erin Campbell continues to impress and lead this team," UW head coach Whitney Hite said. "I was really happy to see Genevieve get a school record along with the 800 free relay. In the 100 back, we had both Jon Banker, who's having a heck of a meet, and Evan Bernier break the men's 100 back record with Evan taking it over. Both of those guys are swimming great.

"I was also impressed with Danielle Gong and David Bai," Hite continued. "David made a huge step today in the 200 free, as did Petra. These are big moves and I'm really proud to say that for the first time in school history all of our top-10 times in the 200 free for the women are under 1:50. My college coach used to say the strength of your team is the 200 free so we're finally getting there."

Hite also continues to be impressed with his freshmen women, who are swimming well beyond their years.

"Kelly Flynn and Amelia Messegee both swam well, with Amelia anchoring the 800 relay. We put them in pressure situations today and they did not disappoint. They did very well," Hite said. "We're having a very good meet. We're doing very well. We'll keep it rolling for one more day and be good to go."

Special thanks to Washington for contributing this report.

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