The Case Western Reserve University men's and women's swimming and diving teams set three school records on the second day of the 2023 University Athletic Association Championships hosted by Emory University at the Woodruff P.E. Center in Atlanta on Thursday.
First, the 200-yard freestyle relay of first-years Claire Kozma and Eliza Dixon and sophomores Kate Menzer and Gabriella Chambers recorded an NCAA B cut time and tied the school record, recording a time of 1:34.95. The time matches the mark of former Spartans Suhan Mestha, Renee Decker, Daniella Rupert, and Caitlyn VonFeldt from the 2019 Midwest Invitational. The Spartans finished fourth in the event.
Kozma added an individual fourth place finish in the 50 Free, the best individual performance by a Spartan on the second day. She recorded a time of 23.73 seconds after reaching the A Final with the eighth-best time of 23.91 seconds in the prelims. Chambers, Dixon, and sophomore Adriana Kamor also reached the finals of the event. Chambers placed 10th with a time of 23.80 seconds in the B Final, while Dixon and Kamor swam in the C Final with Dixon placing 22nd in 24.37 seconds and Kamor finishing 24th in 24.69 seconds.
To close the day, the 400-yard medley relay of first-year Emil LaSida, junior Ethan Chuang, sophomore Jackson Pollard, and first-year Mason Bencurik broke the school record set earlier this season by LaSida, Chuang, sophomore Ben Zuo, and senior Campbell Patterson at the Magnus Cup. The relay finished in 3:20.47, 0.41 seconds faster than the previous record, to place sixth. In addition, LaSida led off the relay with a school record time of 50.34 seconds in the 100-yard backstroke, breaking his own record of 50.49 seconds from the Magnus Cup.
Sophomore diver Abigail Wilkov earned an individual podium finish for CWRU. In the women's 3-meter dive, she advanced to the final with a score of 428.50 in the prelims, fourth best among competitors. She finished eighth in the event by scoring 384.95 in the finals. Sophomore Jocelyn Schechter finished 10th in the event with a prelims mark of 386.00, and junior Rei Miyauchi placed 14th by scoring 371.15 in the prelims.
The 400 Medley Relay of Menzer, Chambers, and sophomores Erica Rice and Caroline Schlessman placed fifth with a time of 3:53.50. Menzer, Rice, and senior Maria Pritchett all earned points for Case Western Reserve in the 200 IM. Menzer finished 15th after touching the wall at 2:09.84 in the B Final, identical to her time in the prelims. Pritchett finished 18th by swimming 2:08.80 in the C Final with Rice adding a 23rd place finish with a finals time of 2:11.47. She swam the 18th-fastest time in the prelims by finishing in 2:09.99.
Senior Abby Halsdorfer placed 20th for CWRU in the 500 Free, finishing the C Final in 5:08.52 after recording the 21st-best time in the prelims.
The men's 200 Free Relay of Patterson, Zuo, Pollard, and first-year Ben Borvendeg placed sixth in 1:23.30. Individually, Patterson, Borvendeg, and Zuo all qualified for the finals in the 50 Free. In the B Final, Patterson placed 13th with a time of 20.90 seconds, and Borvendeg finished 15th in 21.13 seconds. Zuo swam in the C Final and recorded a time of 21.26 seconds, placing 22nd.
The 15th-ranked CWRU women's swimming and diving team is fifth in the team standings with 359 points, and the #15 men's swimming and diving team is sixth with 296 points. The second-ranked Emory women's team is the leader with two days remaining with 614 points, while the third-ranked University of Chicago men's team sits atop the standings with 618 points.
The UAA Championships resume tomorrow with the prelims for the 200 Medley Relay, 400 IM, 100 Fly, 200 Free, 100 Breast, 100 Back, and the men's 3-meter dive beginning at 10 a.m. Finals for those events begin at 5:30 p.m. tomorrow evening.
