Cavalier Corner

April 2018

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APRIL 2018 23 to the NCAA Championships. That was two more than the previous best mark of 17 in 2014. Marrkand placed ninth in the 200-yard butterfly with a school-record time of 1:51.81, which earned her honorable men- tion All-America honors. In addition, she earned first-team All-America recognition in the 500 free (finished fourth) and was an honorable mention All-American in the 200 free (13th). When she finally stepped out of the Mc- Corkle Aquatic Pavilion pool at Ohio State, she was tied for 11th in program history with a total of 12 All-America honors. "Jenn was a model of consistency," De- Sorbo said. "She was determined to go out on a good note. She got ninth in the [200 butterfly] prelims. "She turned it around and won the conso- lation swim in a record [1:51.81]. She broke the record by over a second which was a goal she had at the beginning of the year." Cooper ended her career on the highest of notes in that not only was she an All- American by swimming a leg on the 400 freestyle relay team — which was her 11th overall All-America honor — but she also recorded a stellar regular season. "Caitlin was the type of swimmer who did whatever it took," DeSorbo said. "She was the best at getting recovery. She wore it on her sleeve to get back the ACC title. "She didn't lose a 50 free all year long [11-0]. She's the only woman in UVA his- tory to go under 22 seconds [21.54]. She had a year she'll never forget." Also swimming a leg on that third-place 400 free relay team (3:10.50) were second- year Morgan Hill, fourth-year Laine Reed and first-year Kyla Valls. That performance earned this trio All-America status. "If I had to choose a most improved ath- lete it would be Laine," DeSorbo said. "She transformed herself. She went from not even making the ACC team last year to becoming an All-American at the NCAAs. "She was an integral part of our 400 free relay and our 200 free relay that won titles and broke the ACC record [1:26.67]." Hill, besides swimming a leg on the 400 free relay, placed 13th in the 100 free (48:04) at the NCAA Championships, which earned her honorable mention All- America honors. And in a preliminary race at the NCAA Championships, Hill tied the Virginia record in the event with a time of 47.88. Joining in the "pool party" was fourth- year Cece Williams, who finished seventh in the 1,650 freestyle at the ACC Champion- ships with a time of 16:12.43. "I've never seen somebody smile so much," DeSorbo said. "She became a dif- ferent swimmer and went through some gru- eling training. She never had qualified for the NCAAs, like Laine. In the 500 free she never had recorded a PR [personal record]. "She swam a PR in all of her races. Her final race at the NCAAs was the mile. She was fatigued but finished with her best time [16:08] in her final event [which ranked eighth in school history after she dropped 3.5 seconds]." Besides the accomplishments of the up- perclassmen, five first-years also made their presence felt — specifically Valls, Erin Ear- ley, Paige Madden, Abby Richter and Emma Seiberlich. "Kyla swam on that 400 free relay which placed third," DeSorbo said. "It was a pres- sure situation. For our girls to get ninth place they had to finish at least third. "Kyla exceeded our expectations and came through on that relay." This quintet of first-years gives Virginia a solid core of swimmers going forward. "I think it says the future of the program is in really good hands," DeSorbo said. "We had one more there as an alternate [first- year Anna Pang on the 4x50 freestyle relay team]. We're excited about the future. "Even though they didn't score points in that meet [with the exception of Valls] their main focus was the ACC Championships. We feel pretty good going into next year. We can put more focus on the NCAA Champi- onships and on more [women] becoming All-Americans." If there was one Cavalier who didn't score points at the NCAA Championships but who gave DeSorbo a great deal of sat- isfaction it was fourth-year Dina Rommel. "We only can take 18 swimmers to the ACCs and she was the last one to go," DeSorbo said. "She never had been to the ACCs. In her first event, the 50 free, she qualified for the finals and finished eighth. She came over and started crying because she helped the team score points. "She swam a leg on our 200 freestyle relay team that broke the record [1:26.67]. That was a feel-good story." Besides what the Cavaliers accomplished when they were in various pools, what they did when they weren't in the water were contributing factors in a superb season. "I think there are two major reasons out- side of the pool that helped them," DeSorbo said. "One was educating the team on the fact we had this motto 'All Day.' That was a shortened version of carry yourselves as champions all day. By that I mean to be an elite athlete it's not about the four hours you train, but about the other 20 hours. "We put pressure on them to be cham- pions in the classroom, in their social life, in nutrition and toughness. It takes more to become an elite athlete." The second reason was quite practical according to DeSorbo. "It was a matter of our convincing them to have fun," he said. "Our coaching staff is the type in that, like me, I don't like to be bored. I love showing up at the pool at 5:30 in the morning. I want to make it fun for them. Like anything in life, if you're hav- ing fun while working hard you'll get a lot more out of it. "We created an environment on the pool deck where we have great relationships. When it's time to get down to business, we want them to enjoy themselves while they're working hard." Paige Madden, who won the ACC title in the 200-yard backstroke, is among a group of five first-years that give the Cavaliers a solid core of swimmers going forward. PHOTO BY MATT RILEY/COURTESY UVA

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