The Case Western Reserve University men's and women's swimming and diving teams combined to set six school records and the women's 200-yard freestyle relay earned all-conference honors on Thursday, the second day of the 2024 University Athletic Association Championships, hosted by the University of Chicago at the Myers-McLoraine Pool inside the Ratner Athletic Center in Chicago.
The 200 Free Relay of sophomores Eliza Dixon and Claire Kozma and juniors Kelly Vann and Gabriella Chambers placed third with a time of 1:34.18, recording an NCAA B Cut time and earning the first CWRU All-UAA honors in the event since 2010. It also marks the first All-UAA honor for any Spartan swimmer or diver since the conference championships in 2019 when Suhan Mestha placed third in the 100 Free and 100 Back.
To close the night, the 400 Medley Relay of Kozma, Chambers, and juniors Erica Rice and Kate Menzer set a program record and recorded a B Cut with a time of 3:49.31. The relay, which placed fifth, bested the previous program-best time of 3:50.33 set by Caitlyn VonFeldt, Kelly Moton, Anna Smith, and Sarah Krueger at the 2020 Midwest Invite.
Led by four records from sophomore Emil LaSida, the Spartan men's team totaled five new program-best times on the day, including four NCAA B Cut times.
In the 200 Free Relay, LaSida teamed with classmate Ben Borvendeg and juniors Ben Zuo and Jackson Pollard for a time of 1:22.38, besting the previous school record of 1:22.83 set at the 2013 UAA Championships by Eric Haufler, Elliott Kerbel, Gus Bailey, and Caleb Allen. The relay placed sixth in the event. In the 50 Free, a swim-off was needed after LaSida tied for eighth in the prelims with a time of 20.57 seconds. In the one-on-one race, he bested Dylan Yin of Emory by 0.01 seconds with a school record and B Cut time of 20.36 seconds to qualify for the A Final. LaSida finished eighth in the final with a time of 20.61 seconds. He held the previous school record of 20.44 seconds. To end the night, LaSida set two school records in the 400 Medley Relay. He led off the event with a program-best and B Cut time of 48.99 seconds in the 100 Back, besting his previous CWRU record of 49.24 seconds from a 2023 dual meet with Carnegie Mellon. The relay of LaSida, senior Ethan Chuang, and sophomores Mason Bencurik and John Drumm placed sixth with a school record and B Cut time of 3:17.37, besting their previous record of 3:18.26 set at the Total Performance Invite last fall.
Junior Peter Meng bested his own record of 1:50.56 in the 200 IM with a prelims time of 1:48.96, also an NCAA B Cut. After qualifying for the A Final with the fifth-fastest time, he placed seventh with a time of 1:49.09.
Bencurik, Zuo, and Pollard reached the C Final of the 50 Free. Bencurik tied for 18th with a finals time of 20.81 seconds, Zuo placed 23rd after touching the wall at 21.07 seconds, and Pollard placed 24th in 21.14 seconds. In the 500 Free, Drumm reached the B Final with a prelims time of 4:33.19, placing 16th after recording a time of 4:38.30 in the final. In the C Final, junior Griffin Gushman placed 22nd in 4:35.87.
In the 3-meter dive, junior Alex Waltman qualified for the final with the eighth-best score in the preliminary round of 384.65. He placed eighth overall with a score of 386.70. First-year Jack Rudofsky placed 10th in the prelims with a score of 376.60.
Chambers and Kozma each qualified for the A Final of the 50 Free with times of 23.97 and 23.63 seconds, respectively. Chambers placed fourth in 23.71 seconds, missing All-UAA honors by 0.03 seconds, and Kozma placed sixth in 23.87 seconds. In the B Final of the event, Vann placed 14th with a time of 24.28 seconds, and in the C Final, Dixon placed 22nd in 24.50 seconds.
Menzer recorded the fifth-best prelims time in the 200 IM, touching the wall at 2:06.83. She placed eighth in the A Final in 2:09.83. Senior Maria Pritchett placed 18th in the event in 2:08.40.
In two days of competition, the Spartan men's team has set six school records and recorded five NCAA B Cut times, while the CWRU women's team has set two school records and three B Cut times. Case Western Reserve is fifth in the women's standings with 404.0 points and sixth in the men's standings with 331.5 points. Emory is the leader of the conference with two days of competition remaining as the Eagle women's team has compiled 635.0 points, and the Eagle men's team has earned 575.0 points.
The UAA Championships continue Friday with the 400 IM, 100 Fly, 200 Free, 100 Breast, 100 Back, 200 Medley Relay, and women's 3-meter dive. Swimming prelims will start at 11 a.m. ET with finals scheduled for 7 p.m. ET, and diving prelims will begin at 1:45 p.m. ET with finals scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET.
