NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!!! Emory Takes Home Women’s Swimming & Diving DIII Championship
For the third time in the history of the Emory University
swimming and diving program the Eagles are National Team Champions,
as the Emory women finished first at the 2010 NCAA Division III
Swimming and Diving Championships.
This is the third National Championship for the Emory women’s
swimming and diving program. The Eagles won National
Championships in both 2005 and 2006.
It also marks the 11th Division III Championship in the
history of Emory Athletics. Besides the women’s
swimming and diving team’s three, the women’s tennis
team has won five, the men’s tennis team two, and the
volleyball team one.
The Eagles finished the meet with 568.5 points scored, placing them
well ahead of second-place Denison University (452 points) and
third-place Williams College (367 points).
Sophomore Anne Culpepper earned the first
individual National Championship of the meet for Emory, winning the
200-yard backstroke with a time of 1:59.74, the second-fastest in
school history. It is the first National Championship of
Culpepper’s career and the 21st individual
championship in the women’s program’s history.
She also becomes just the second Eagle ever to win the 200-yard
backstroke, joining RachaelLeClair who won the event in 1989.
The Eagles also won their first-ever National Championship in the
400-yard freestyle relay, as Ruth Westby,
Lillian Ciardelli, Ann Wolber and
Claire Pavlak won the event with a time of
3:22.44. It was the fifth-career National Championship for
Westby, third each for Ciardelli and Pavlak, and second for
Wolber.
Sophomore Whitley Taylor also earned an
all-America honor with a fourth-place finish in the 200-yard
backstroke, while Tayrn Lushinksy finished ninth
and Natty Chalermpalanupap 15th to earn
all-America honorable mentions.
Junior Liz Horvat opened the evening session for
Emory with a second-place finish in the 1,650-yard freestyle,
swimming a time of 16:52.01. It was the third individual
honor of the meet for Horvat, and 12th of her
career. Sophomore Anne Culpepper and junior
Amy Minowitz claimed sixth and seventh,
respectively, in the event to earn all-America honors as well,
while freshman Theresa Gallagher claimed
14th to earn an all-America honorable mention.
Senior Ruth Westby capped off her career with a
third-place finish in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 50.01
seconds. With the all-America finish in the event, coupled
with all-America finishes in the 50- and 100-yard freestyles,
Westby became the first swimmer in Emory history to earn
all-America honors in the same three individual events all four
years of her career.
Senior Lillian Ciardelli would finish
11th, and freshman Ann Wolber
12th, to earn all-America honorable mentions in the
100-yard freestyle.
In the final individual event of the meet, Katie
Mroz finished second with a time of 2:18.17 in the
200-yard breaststroke, and was followed closely by third-place
finisher and teammate April Whitley.
In addition to National Championships in the 200-yard backstroke,
the 200-yard freestyle relay and the 400-yard freestyle relay, the
Eagles finished the meet with 22 all-America honors and 12
all-America honorable mentions in individual events. In the
relays, the Eagles earned an additional five all-America honors,
finishing no worse than fourth in any relay.
The meet also marks the end of a number of history Emory
careers. Ruth Westby added on another seven all-America
honors to her resume during this year’s meet, and will
graduate as the most decorated swimmer in Emory history with 27
all-America honors, one short of the maximum, in addition to five
National Championships. Lillian Ciardelli added five more
all-America certificates this season to graduate with 15, the
fourth-most in school history, in addition to three National
Championships.
The meet concludes the 2009-10 season for the Emory University women’s swimming and diving team.
