Generals Win Four Events, Two Records Set

GREENSBORO, N.C. --- Washington and Lee University won four of the five events competed and was responsible for one of two records broken on the first day of the 2013 ODAC Swimming Championships.  The Generals racked up 294 points to open up a wide margin on second place Randolph-Macon College (140 pts.).  Emory & Henry College sits third with 132 points, having the second record of the evening.

It didn't take long to add new entries to the ODAC books as W&L won 200-yard freestyle relay --- the first event of the finals --- with a time of 1:37.15.  The team of Sarah Schaffer, Emma Swabb, Meredith Hardy and Izzy Brassfield eclipsed the former meet and ODAC record of 1:38.17 set by the Generals in 2009.  Emory & Henry (1:40.25) and Bridgewater College (1:40.64) were tight to the wall for second and third.

Delaney Rolfe made it two W&L wins in two events as she claimed the 500-yard freestyle title for the second straight year.  The two-time ODAC/Farm Bureau Insurance Scholar-Athlete of the Year posted a time of 5:12.29, just ahead of 2010 event champion Rebecca Stevenson (5:13.97) from Randolph-Macon.

W&L's winning streak reached three events as Swabb fell just 0.31 seconds short of setting a new meet and conference mark in the 200-yard individual medley with a winning time of 2:09.93.  Emory & Henry's Taylor Guardalabene was the only non-General in the top seven as she placed second in 2:12.72.

The Wasps' Payton Shirey made the most of her first event victory as she set a new ODAC (24.13) and meet (24.08) record in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 23.98 seconds.  W&L's Brassfield (24.51), Schaffer (24.75) and Hardy (24.88) claimed the next three spots.

The Generals returned to the front of the pack in the evening's final event.  The team of Stephanie Foster, Swabb, Caroline Hamp and Brassfield won the 400-yard medley relay in 3:59.99, just 0.55 seconds shy of W&L's second ODAC and meet record.  Randolph-Macon (4:10.63) and Bridgewater (4:11.47) round out the top three.

In the morning session, Hampden-Sydney College accumulated 270 points to open up a comfortable lead in the first ODAC men's invitational.  Greensboro College sits second with 163 points, and Randolph-Macon holds down the third spot (20 pts.) in the three-team men's standings.

Greensboro came through with the win in the 200-yard medley relay in 1:34.71.  H-SC placed second in 1:36.19.

The Pride's Eddie Kirby touched the wall in 5:22.25 to win the 500-yard freestyle.  Teammates Matt Dittemore (5:37.03) and Ryan Hurd (6:01.56) grabbed the next two places.

Four Tigers took to the waters in the 200-yard individual medley.  Ke Shang grabbed the win with a time of 2:14.89.

Randolph-Macon posted its first men's triumph in the 50-yard freestyle as Corey Hutchison-Kreiter touched first in 21.64.  Greensboro's Josh Peregoy (23.80) placed second, and Alton Brieske (24.24) led a group of six Tigers that captured places 3-7.

Greensboro claimed its second relay win of the day in the 400-yard medley relay with a time of 4:01.31.  Hampden-Sydney finished second in 4:02.96.

Day two of the championships gets underway at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday with preliminaries the second set of men's finals.  The women's finals take place at 6:30 p.m.  Follow along by downloading the Meet Mobile app for your iPad, iPhone or Android powered devices.  You can also view live results on the web by visit the ODAC championship website.

For more information on the 2013 ODAC Swimming Championships, visit the websites of any of the participating schools, or go to the ODAC's home on the Internet at www.odaconline.com.