William and Mary vs. Richmond

RICHMOND, Virginia, October 15. THE Richmond swimming & diving team rolled to a 163-127 dual win over William and Mary on Saturday in its home-opener at the Robins Center Natatorium. Behind a well-balanced attack, the Spiders swept the afternoon's first nine events and finished the day with wins in 14 of the meet's 16 events.

"We were not particularly good last week and we improved this week in a lot of areas," said head coach Matt Barany. "I think the women really focused all week. We did a much better job focusing as a group and it showed today."

Junior Lauren Hines, sophomore Mali Kobelja, junior Mina Vucic and senior Charlotte Brackett opened the afternoon by combining to clock a top time of 1:45.45 in the 200 medley relay. The Spider squad of freshman Anna Fetter, sophomore Laura Jordan and seniors Mary Anne Lerro and Jill Smaniotto combined for a time of 1:48.57 to take third just .18 seconds behind the Tribe's runner-up 'A' relay.

Sophomore Jessie Krebs (Towson, Md./Towson) then went the distance in the 1000 free, turning in a time of 10:18.85 to pace the field in the race. Senior Alexi Kuska (Westfield, N.J./Westfield Senior) clocked a 10:28.34 to record runner-up honors.

Next up was senior Charlotte Brackett (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park), who touched the wall in a time of 1:54.80 to win the 200 free. She would follow that up with a top finish in the 100 portion of the event, which she won with a time of 52.97.

Junior Lauren Hines (Roanoke, Va./Hidden Valley) continued her strong start to the season by clocking a 56.23 to claim victory in the 100 back. Freshman Anna Fetter (Westfield, N.J./Westfield) would round out the top three with a time of 59.23.

Sophomore Mali Kobelja (Fort Wayne, Ind./R. Nelson Snider) maintained the Spider momentum by cruising to victory in the 100 breast in a time of 1:05.79. After turning in a 2:22.10 to pace the field in the 200 portion of the event by nearly four seconds, Kobelja touched the wall with a time of 2:07.36 in the 200 IM to tally her third individual victory of the day.

Also entering the wins column for the Spiders were freshman Allison Titley (Richmond, Va./Saint Gertrude) and junior Mina Vucic (Bethesda, Md./Walter Johnson). Titley finished with a top time of 2:07.43 in the 200 fly, while Vucic sprinted to victory in the 50 free with a time of 24.15.

The distance duo of Krebs and Kuska would again go 1-2 in the 500 free. Krebs secured her second win of the afternoon with a time of 5:03.17 with Kuska just behind in 5:05.70.

Freshman Katherine Cook (Kenilworth, Ill./New Trier) swept the day's diving events to continue her strong rookie campaign. After winning the 1-meter board with a score of 232.65, Cook posted a 263.48 to take top honors in 3-meter diving.

The Spiders return to the water on Friday, Oct. 28 when they travel to Fairfax, Va., to take on George Mason at the Patriot's Jim McKay Natatorium at 6 p.m.

The above article is a press release submitted to Swimming World Magazine. It has been posted in its entirety without editing. Swimming World offers all outlets the chance to reach our audience by contacting us at Newsmaster@swimmingworldmagazine.com. However, Swimming World reserves the right to choose what material is posted.

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