Between Wednesday, Feb. 12, and Saturday, Feb. 15, Case Western Reserve University’s men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams competed in the UAA Championships held at Emory University in Atlanta.
The CWRU women’s team finished sixth in the conference with 850.5 points. Emory claimed the championship with 1,867 points, followed by New York University (1,846), the University of Chicago (1,365.5), Washington University in St. Louis (1,005) and Carnegie Mellon University (897). The University of Rochester (501) and Brandeis University (322) placed seventh and eighth, respectively.
Third-year Claire Kozma, along with second-year Maggie Rose Rook and fourth-years Angeli Paull, Kate Menzer, Kelly Vann, Simone Vale and Gabriella Chambers, achieved a total of seven NCAA B cut times, with four of them coming from their relay finishes, making them eligible for NCAA Championship consideration.
Additionally, the Spartan women set two school records in the 200-yard freestyle relay and 400-yard medley relay, and fourth-year Abigail Wilkov won the UAA Championship in the 1-meter dive, becoming the first diver in the history of the women’s program to claim a UAA title. Wilkov also became the first-ever UAA champion diver on either board in program history and the first Spartan to earn All-UAA honors in the 1-meter dive.
The men’s team also placed sixth, scoring 810.5 points across the four-day meet. Emory won the championship with 1,682 points, followed by NYU (1,586.5), Chicago (1,448), Carnegie Mellon (1,111.5), and WashU (1,020.5). Rochester (495) and Brandeis (322) rounded out the standings.
The men’s team set three new school records over the four-day meet. The Spartans opened the first swim event with a school record in the 800-yard free relay, as third-years Mason Bencurik and John Drumm and fourth-years Peter Meng and Griffin Gushman finished fourth with a time of 6:36.78. The Spartans also set a school record in the 400-yard freestyle relay, with third-years Emil LaSida, William Froass, Bencurik and Drumm finishing fifth with a time of 3:00.97 and surpassing the previous record of 3:01.16 set earlier this season by Bencurik, Froass, Drumm and Meng. This performance also met the NCAA B cut standard. LaSida, Bencurik and Froass were also part of the school record-breaking 200-yard freestyle relay team alongside third-year Ben Borvendeg.
In addition to the relay, the Spartans recorded four other NCAA B cut times, giving them a chance to qualify for the NCAA Championships in March.
Both teams will have one final opportunity to improve their qualification times at the End of Year Invitational on Feb. 21-22 in Veale Natatorium.
Following this season, the Spartans will graduate large classes, with the women’s team saying farewell to 21 seniors and one graduate student, while the men’s team will graduate 19 seniors. The upcoming invitational will be their last chance to compete before the NCAA Championships.