Women's team comes in third at UAAs

NYU's women's swimming and diving team finished in third place out of eight teams at the University Athletic Association Championships held at Emory University from Wednesday to Saturday, while the men's team finished in fifth.

The women's total of 1,118.5 points trailed only University of Chicago (1,379) and Emory University (2,065).

Freshman Tatum Gormley and sophomore Kelly Dietz led the way for the Violets.
On Thursday, Gormley grabbed second-place honors and an NCAA B-cut in the 200-yard individual medley (2:07.79), and on Friday finished second in the 400-yard individual medley with another B-cut time of 4:31.72. She also added a fifth-place finish in the 200-yard butterfly Saturday (2:08.26), along with a successful leg in the 400-yard freestyle relay race, with senior captain Danielle Hildebrandt, sophomore Kristen Fujii and junior Chelsea Pfohl (B-cut time of 3:34.97).

Head coach Lauren Beam was pleased with Gormley, who was named UAA Rookie of the Year.
"Tatum had a phenomenal meet, best I've ever seen," Beam said.

On Wednesday, sophomore diver Kelly Dietz posted a second-place, NCAA-qualifying total of 418.10 in the one-meter dive. Dietz followed that up on Friday with another second-place dive in the three-meter event with a total of 424 points.

"I will always feel like there is something more that I could have done," Dietz said. "But overall I had a ton of fun, and that's the most important part."

Sophomore Molly Rippe also had an impressive meet, earning an NCAA A-cut after a third-place finish in the 1,650-yard freestyle (17:14.66).

The men's team's total of 904 points trailed Washington University (1,011.5), the University of Chicago (1,180), Carnegie Mellon University (1,524) and Emory (1,855).

Senior Eric Pcholinski was named the UAA Swimmer of the Year. He won the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 21.94, surpassing NCAA provisional qualifying standards, and followed that up with a victory in the 100-yard freestyle (45.53).

Head coach Bob Sorensen was pleased with his swimmers and their hard work.

"The whole team pushed themselves to the max," Sorensen said.

Sophomore Bryson Naylor finished second on Saturday in the 200-yard breaststroke with a B-cut time of 2:06.76, breaking an NYU record that dates back to 1988.

"I'm really excited that my name will be going up on that NYU record board," Naylor said.
Junior Max Norris, who was named UAA Diver of the Year, earned an NCAA-qualifying score of 431.20 after winning the one-meter dive. He also won the three-meter dive with a score of 427.65.

Diving head coach Scott Donie and assistant Todd Kolean were named UAA Diving Coaching Staff of the Year.

NYU's Swimming and Diving teams return to action on Saturday when they will try to improve their times in order to qualify for NCAAs at the NYU Last Chance Invitational.