The Case Western Reserve University men's and women's swimming and diving teams each finished the third day of the 2023 University Athletic Association Championships hosted by Emory University at the Woodruff P.E. Center in Atlanta on Friday in sixth place.
The 15th-ranked CWRU women's swimming and diving team are sixth in the conference standings entering the final day with 539 points, and the #15 men's swimming and diving team is sixth with 460 points. The third-ranked University of Chicago men's team holds a four-point lead over top-ranked Emory, 1,224-1,220, while the #2 Emory women's team currently leads the Maroons 1,243-1,094.
For the women's team, the 200-yard medley relay of sophomores Erica Rice and Caroline Schlessman and first-years Eliza Dixon and Claire Kozma placed fifth with a time of 1:46.52.
Kozma added a 10th place finish in the 100-yard butterfly, the best individual place by a Spartan on the third day, touching the wall in the B Final at 56.65 seconds. Sophomore Kate Menzer also swam in the B Final, placing 13th in 57.44 seconds. In the C Final, sophomore Erin Quinlan recorded a 21st place finish in 58.72 seconds.
Rice, first-year Kate Trembly, and sophomore Amelia Myhrvold all qualified for finals in the 100-yard backstroke. Rice placed 14th with a B Final time of 58.29 seconds after logging a time of 57.52 seconds in the prelims, 12th fastest among all competitors. Trembley also competed in the B Final, placing 16th in 58.99 seconds following her time of 57.88 seconds in the prelims. In the C Final, Myhrvold finished 20th in 58.81 seconds.
Five Spartans placed in the 400-yard individual medley, the most for the team in any event. Senior Abby Halsdorfer reached the B Final, recording a time of 4:35.20 to place 14th. In the C Final, sophomore Isabel Verheyen finished 17th in 4:36.06, sophomore Selah Dean finished 21st in 4:41.39, junior Emma Guarnieri finished 22nd in 4:41.60, and first-year Allison Ploutz-Snyder finished 23rd in 4:52.27.
Schlessman and sophomores Ally Solomon and sophomore Gabriella Chambers rounded out the scoring for CWRU. Schlessman placed 23rd in the 100-yard breaststroke, one spot ahead of Solomon in the C Final. She recorded a time of 1:08.48, with Solomon touching the wall at 1:08.72. In the C Final of the 200-yard freestyle, Chambers recorded a time of 1:53.91, placing 21st.
For the men's team, the 200 Medley Relay of first-year Emil LaSida, junior Ethan Chuang, sophomore Ben Zuo, senior Campbell Patterson placed sixth with a time of 1:30.60.
Chuang added a 12th place finish in the 100 Breast, recording a time of 56.47 seconds in the B Final after swimming the ninth-fastest time of 56.13 seconds in the prelims. Sophomore Jiro Batt and first-year Julian Kim qualified for the C Final, with Batt placing 21st by finishing in 57.82 seconds, and Kim finishing 24th in 58.05 seconds. Kim recorded a time of 57.64 seconds in the prelims, 20th fastest in the event.
In the 100 Back, LaSida placed 17th with a finals time of 50.78 seconds. Joining him in the C Final were first-year William Froass, who placed 19th in 51.46 seconds after recording a time of 51.35 seconds in the prelims, senior Connor Chignell, who placed 21st in 51.87 seconds, and sophomore Jace Creech, who placed 23rd with a time of 54.43 seconds, 0.03 seconds slower than his prelims time.
First-year John Drumm and sophomore Jackson Pollard both appeared in the finals for the 100 Fly. In the B Final, Drumm recorded a time of 49.46 seconds to place 13th, while in the C Final, Pollard finished 23rd with a time of 50.50 seconds. He had the 19th-fastest prelims time, 50.32 seconds.
Sophomore Stephen Hogeman, who placed 19th in the 200 Free in 1:41.22, and junior Hunter Forsythe, who finished 23rd with a time of 4:08.83 in the 400 IM, both added points for CWRU. In the 3-meter dive, sophomore Nico Billoni placed 14th with a score of 333.70, and sophomore Ben Wellnitz finished 16th with a score of 203.75.
The UAA Championships conclude tomorrow with the prelims for the 200 Back, 100 Free, 200 Breast, 200 Fly, 1650 Free, and women's 1-meter dive beginning at 10 a.m. Finals for those events and the meet-ending 400 Free Relay begin at 5:30 p.m. tomorrow evening.
