R-MC Sets Meet Record, Babington Qualifies for NCAA's Again

Full Meet Results     ODAC-only Results

CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. --- Washington and Lee University won three more events on Sunday evening, powering the Generals to their fourth straight ODAC/Atlantic States Swimming Championship title.  It also marked their 21st overall ODAC crown.  Randolph-Macon College finished second followed by Sweet Briar College in third and Bridgewater College in fourth.

Randolph-Macon took home three-of-five major ODAC individual awards, including the ODAC Coach of the Year honor for Ben Delia.  Sarah Almond was tabbed the ODAC Swimmer of the Year after tasting victory in six of the seven events she swam.  Almond won the 50 and 200-yard freestyle events, while helping the Jackets to victories in the 200 and 800-yard free relays on the first two days.  She added a win in the 100-yard freestyle and teamed with Lizzy Buckley, Tracilyn Babington and Ellie Shea in setting a new ODAC and meet record with a time of 3:36.63 in the 400-yard free relay.  Almond also joined her teammates on day one in finishing second in the 400-yard medley relay.

R-MC freshman Tracilyn Babington enjoyed four victories in seven events to earn the ODAC Rookie of the Year award.  On Friday and Saturday, Babington was part of the winning 200-yard free relay, won the 100-yard breaststroke, helped her teammates to second place finishes in the 200 and 400-yard medley relays while also finishing second in the 50-yard freestyle.  On Sunday, she helped R-MC to its record-breaking win in the 400-yard free relay, and qualified for nationals for the second time in the meet by eclipsing the NCAA B-cut mark of 2:24.86 in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:24.21.  She previously qualified in the 100-yard breaststroke.

Washington and Lee's Delaney Rolfe received the ODAC/Farm Bureau Insurance Scholar-Athlete Award in a vote by the league's sports information directors.  A sophomore, Rolfe boasts a 3.841 grade point average as a Generals' student-athlete.  She competed in five events during the championships, placing second each time.  Individually, she was the runner-up in the 200 and 500-yard freestyles and the 200-yard butterfly, and was a part of the second place 400 and 800-yard free relays.

Generals' sophomore Kelly Mae Ross earned the Bonnie Kestner Sportsmanship Award.  Ross competed in four events in Christiansburg, placing second in the 800-yard free relay, fourth in the 1,650-yard free, eighth in the 500-yard free and ninth in the 200-yard free.

Greensboro College collected both Atlantic States awards.  Senior Emma Phillips was tabbed the Atlantic States Swimmer of the Year, while head coach Scott Budde was named the Atlantic States Coach of the Year.

Sunday's six events capped the three day event in the Christiansburg Aquatic Center.  The finals opened with W&L's Ann McCampbell winning the 1,650-yard free in 18:03.05.  R-MC's Rebecca Stevenson (18:15.54) took second, while Generals Joan Hudak (18:22.58) and Kelly Mae Ross (18:36.69) touched out third and fourth, respectively.  SBC's Charlotte Greenwood (18:54.40) finished fifth.

W&L's Jocelyn Cassada won her second event of the meet with a time of 2:09.33 in the 200-yard backstroke.  Fellow Generals Tess Hayden (2:13.84) and Krista Camp (2:16.04) secured the next two places, while R-MC's Elizabeth Plowman (2:16.11) and SBC's Melissa Simpson (2:19.85) took fourth and fifth.

Randolph-Macon collected the first three positions in the 100-yard free.  Almond won the event in 53.08 seconds, followed by Buckley (54.49) and Shea (55.16).  Washington and Lee's Rebecca Lawrence (55.28) and Izzy Brassfield (55.49) rounded out the top five.

Babington's 2:24.21 time in the 200-yard breaststroke fell just 0.09 seconds short of tying the ODAC record in the event.  Greensboro's Phillips (2:25.66) chimed in second with W&L's Dana Fredericks (2:30.09) placing third.  R-MC's Kellianne Mullin (2:31.29) and Virginia Mauch (2:35.53) finished fourth and fifth.

The 200-yard butterfly title went to W&L's Brittany Ross in 2:12.20.  Teammates Rolfe (2:13.27) and Lauren Kasoff (2:15.09) touched second and third, respectively, followed by Randolph-Macon's Corinne Campbell (2:20.51) in fourth.  Generals Stephanie Krasnov (2:21.76) and Lauren Starnes (2:22.64) collected the next two positions.

The 2011 championships concluded with a dramatic finish in the 400-yard free relay.  Washington and Lee opened up as much as a body-length lead on Randolph-Macon, but the edge had been shaved in half by the time Almond hit the water for the final 100 yards.  She erased the Yellow Jackets' deficit and capped the team's record-setting swim in a time of 3:36.63.  W&L finished second in 3:38.41, and Sweet Briar touched third in 3:53.02.

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

FINAL OVERALL TEAM STANDINGS