Generals Claim Sixth Straight Crown, H-SC Wins Men's Invitational

GREENSBORO, N.C. --- Washington and Lee University won four events during Sunday's final day of competition to increase its point total to 1,000 and win the 2013 ODAC Swimming Championships, the program's 23rd overall and sixth straight league title.  Randolph-Macon College finished second with 515 points, while Bridgewater College’s second place finish in the meet’s final event secured third place by four points (412-to-408) over Emory & Henry College.

Washington and Lee's Caroline Hamp was named the ODAC Swimmer of the Year, while teammates Emma Swabb and Delaney Rolfe were tabbed the ODAC Rookie of the Year and the ODAC/Farm Bureau Insurance Scholar-Athlete of the Year, respectively.  Bridgewater's Fran Smith received ODAC Coach of the Year honors.  Hollins University swimmer Michelle Douglas was named the Bonnie Kestner Sportsmanship Award recipient.

Hamp, a sophomore from Avon Lake, Ohio, was a member of a pair of W&L winning relay teams and claimed one individual event title while also setting conference or meet records in two events.  Hamp and her teammates won the 400-yard medley relay (3:59.99) on Friday and set the ODAC and meet record in the 200-yard medley relay (1:48.11) on Saturday.  She set and reset the 100-yard butterfly record on day two, posting a time of 58.70 in the preliminaries and then bettering that with a winning time of 58.52 in the finals.  Hamp, the 2012 ODAC Rookie of the Year, also placed second in the 200-yard backstroke (2:12.56) and third in the 200-yard individual medley (2:13.51).

Smith enjoys her first top coaching honor in her sixth season guiding the Bridgewater swimmers.  The Eagles’ third place finish and 412 team points mark Bridgewater’s best finish in the conference championship meet since establishing the program in the 2007-08 season.  Bridgewater went 7-1 in duel meets this season, with their only loss coming to Washington and Lee.

Swabb, a freshman from Erie, Pa., won both the 200-yard individual medley (2:09.93) and 400-yard individual medley (4:40.25).  She and her teammates set a new ODAC and meet record in the 200-yard free relay (1:37.15) and joined Hamp and others on the winning 400-yard medley relay team.  Swabb also placed second in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:29.43).

Rolfe, a senior from Dallas, Texas, became the first swimming athlete to win the sport’s scholar-athlete award three times (also won in 2011 and 2012).  She stands out in the classroom with a 3.817 grade point average as an accounting and business administration double major.  In the pool, the three-time All-ODAC First Team swimmer defended her 2012 championship in the 500-yard freestyle by winning the event this weekend with a time of 5:12.29.  She was also a member of the Generals ODAC-record setting 800-yard freestyle relay (7:52.87) and 400-yard freestyle relay (3:33.95) teams in 2012.

Sunday’s finals began with E&H’s Lauren Frizzell winning her first event of the championships with a time of 18:00.52 in the 1,650-yard freestyle.  W&L’s Colleen Moore (18:12.20) and Randolph-Macon’s Rebecca Stevenson (18:13.56) came in second and third, respectively.

Washington and Lee posted its first win of the day in the 200-yard backstroke as Stephanie Foster touched the wall first in 2:11.33.  Teammates Hamp (2:12.56) and Lizz Platt (2:14.67) rounded out the top-three.

Emory & Henry’s Payton Shirey became the first Wasp to win a pair of individual event titles (also won the 50-yard freestyle on Friday) as she out-paced a fast field of swimmers in the 100-yard freestyle in 53.04 seconds.  W&L’s Izzy Brassfield (53.85), Sarah Schaffer (53.88) and Meredith Hardy (53.93) were separated by just 0.08 seconds in places 2-4.

W&L’s Hannah Melkun added to her 100-yard breastroke title on Saturday by claiming first in the 200-yard variety with a time of 2:27.23.  Swabb (2:29.43) finished second and fellow General Mary Gabe came in third in 2:32.56.

In the 200-yard butterfly, W&L’s Brittany Ross and Lauren Kasoff eclipsed the meet record of 2:11.28.  Ross won the event in 2:10.71, while Kasoff posted a time of 2:11.26.  E&H’s Taylor Guardalabene (2:13.78) came in third, just 0.05 seconds in front of the Generals’ Meredith Murphy (2:13.78).

The final event of the three-day meet proved to be the deciding factor for third place in the overall team standings.  Washington and Lee’s team of Schaffer, Hardy, Rolfe and Brassfield won the event in 3:35.64.  Bridgewater, ahead of Emory & Henry by just two points coming into the event, touched the wall in second in 3:40.36.  The Wasps posted the third-best time in 3:43.34.

On the men's side, Hampden-Sydney College won three events to maintain hold of the top spot in the team standings and claim the men's invitational meet victory with 786 points.  Greensboro College finished second with 530 points, while Randolph-Macon placed third with 60 markers.

Greensboro's Eddie Kirby won his third event of the meet with a time of 18:35.05 in the 1,650-yard freestyle.   The Pride's Matt Dittemore (21:26..69) finished second, while H-SC's Evan Harris (23:31.48) came in third.

R-MC's Corey Hutchison-Kreiter picked up his third win in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 49.05.  Greensboro's Justin Schmitz (51.75) came in second, while the Tigers' Treavor Hartwell (53.45) showed in third.

H-SC's Grayson Kelley was the only competitor in the 200-yard backstroke, earning his squad 20 points with a time of 2:34.03 in the event.  Ke Shang did the same thing for the Tigers in the 200-yard butterfly as his time 2:25.98 added 20 more tallies to H-SC's total.

Alton Brieske owned the remaining win for H-SC as he touched the wall in 2:26.47 to win the 200-yard breaststroke.  Greensboro's Robert Smith (2:34.29) finished second.

The Pride grabbed the final victory of the men's meet in the 400-yard freestyle relay.  The team of Dittemore, Kirby, Josh Peregoy, and Schmitz posted a time of 3:34.17.  Hampden-Sydney finished second in 3:42.53.

For more information on the 2013 ODAC Swimming Championships, be sure to check out the championship website or visit the websites of any of the participating.