Tech women tied for third after first day at the ACC Championships

COLLEGE PARK, Md.- The Virginia Tech H2Okies competed in the first day of competition at the Atlantic Coast Conference Championships in College Park, Md. In the first day of action, Tech raced in the 200 medley relay and the 800 free relay. The H2Okies currently are tied with Florida State in third place and scored 60 team points. Virginia leads after day one with 80 points.

The team of seniors Jordan McHorney, Megan Newell and Sara Smith, along with junior Jessica Earl captured a second-place finish in the 200 medley relay and 34 team points. The Tech squad touched in at 1:38.56 in the event to break the H2Okie team record by .32 seconds and posted an NCAA “B” cut time. Virginia won the race with a time of 1:37.50, to claim 40 team points and an early lead at the championships.

In the 800 free relay, another H2Okie record was broken. Junior Kelly deMarrais, sophomore Lauren Ritter and freshmen Erika Hajnal and Jace Howanitz completed the race in 7:15.10, destroying the previous record set in 2007, by nearly seven seconds. The team placed sixth and garnered another NCAA “B” cut time.

Tomorrow the H2Okies will race in the 50 and 500 free, along with the 200 IM. The divers will compete in 1-meter action, with the relay team competing in the 200 free relay event. Additionally, the H2Okie men’s diving team will take part in 3-meter action. Preliminary action begins at 11 a.m. with the finals taking place at 7 p.m.