Men's Swimming - BlueHens.com - Delaware Athletics

University of Delaware Men’s and Women’s Swimming Programs Named in Final Mid-Major Poll of 2011

December 22, 2011

Photo Courtesy of Tom Roberts

Athlete photo SOMERS, Wis. - - Heading into the winter break and it’s much anticipated week of training in Florida, the University of Delaware men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams were recently named among the top NCAA Division I Mid-Major programs across the country by CollegeSwimming.com.

The men held steady in this week’s poll at No. 20 with 212.48 points, sitting among the 25 ranked teams evaluated on dual meet action. The women were among 36 teams also receiving consideration just outside the Top 25.

A handful of swimmers from both the men and women’s teams are coming off a positive performance at the United States Swimming Winter Nationals in early December.

Swimming in a 50-meter Olympic sized pool and against the likes of Olympic medalists Ryan Lochte and Dara Torres, the Blue Hens' main goal was to compete in a large-scale meet to prepare for the Colonial Athletic Association Championships in February.

The top finisher for the Blue Hens during the weekend was senior Stephanie Dodd, who placed 33rd overall in the 800 freestyle with a time of 9:13.84. Her finish was the best among all UD competitors during the three-day meet, as many of the swimmers use the meet to earn U.S. Olympic Trials qualifying times.

The top UD men’s finisher on the final day of the competition was junior Ryan Roberts who placed 43rd in the 200 backstroke with a time of 2:09.11. On Friday, Roberts placed 49th in the 100 backstroke and was 90th in the 200 freestyle.

The team’s last dual meet action came on November 12, as both the men and women swept their way past La Salle and Rider in a three-way competition.

Hannah Facchine paced the women (4-2, 1-2 CAA) by sweeping all four of her events. She touched home first in the 100 and 200-yard breaststroke races, as well as the 200-yard individual medley and helped the 200-yard medley relay team to a victory.

Matt Marquez earned three podium finishes to lead the men (3-3, 0-3 CAA) to two victories. He took the 1,000-yard freestyle in 10:02.44 and also finished in the top three for the 100 and 500-yard freestyle events.

Now in its 10th year, the Mid-Major Rankings serve to provide an objective point system to compare teams’ relative strength in a traditional dual meet lineup. The ranking is available to those institutions that a) are not members of a BCS conference or Mountain West Conference, or b) provide less than one-half of the allowable scholarships under the NCAA rules.

While in Florida, the teams will battle William Jewell College on December 30 at the Southwest Complex in Largo, Fla. The teams return to Rawstrom Natatorium on January 14 when they host Drexel and Northeastern in a tri-meet starting at 12 noon.

AGATE:

Women’s Mid-Major Division I Swimming Rankings: 1. San Jose State 256.61, 2. Harvard 253.83, 3. Miami (Ohio) 253.00, 4. Princeton 250.16, 5. Towson 246.96, 6. Denver 245.70, 7. North Texas 345.64, 8. Oakland 243.82, 9. Florida Gulf Coast 242.45, 10. UC-Santa Barbara 239.02, 11. UW Milwaukee 238.93, 12. New Mexico State 238.39, 13. Western Kentucky 237.74, 14. Cal Poly 236.17, 15. Buffalo 233.92, 16. James Madison 233.79, 17. UMBC 232.94, 18. Bucknell 232.36, 19. Cleveland State 229.85, 20. Missouri State 229.70, 21. Columbia 227.37, 22. William & Mary 226.70, 23. Illinois State 225.32, 24. Idaho 224.32, 25. Navy 222.94. Among Others Receiving Consideration: Delaware

Men’s Mid-Major Division I Swimming Rankings: 1. Princeton 251.35, 2. UC-Santa Barbara 243.23, 3. Navy 242.13, 4. Harvard 240.78, 5. Denver 234.63, 6. Army 231.85, 7. Oakland 231.66, 8. Cal Bakersfield 231.11, 9. UW Milwaukee 230.84, 10. Buffalo 230.32, 11. Missouri State 229.94, 12. Western Kentucky 229.79, 13. UMBC 227.82, 14. Columbia 227.16, 15. Cleveland State 225.02, 16. Bucknell 221.39, 17. North Dakota 219.35, 18. Rider 217.50, 19. Dartmouth 215.63, 20. Delaware 212.48, 21. Cal Poly 212.15, 22. Massachusetts 211.92, 23. St. Bonaventure 210.24, 24. Boston University 209.13, 25. South Dakota State 205. 97

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