By Jordan Shim-
The women’s swim and dive team won silver and bronze medals after the first day of the four-day ACC Championship.
Louisville overcame a slow start to finish second in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:35:69. First in was Aline Kendzior (24.60), who handed off to Andrea Cottrell in fifth place. Cottrell (26.42) turned in the fastest breaststroke of the field, moving the Cards up to second. Nastja Govejsek (23.15) held second place in the fly. The Cards almost stole the gold late with freshman Casey Fanz (21.52), but NC State’s Ky-lee Perry (21.36) secured the Wolfpack’s top spot.
The Cards played catch up again in the 800 free relay and won bronze at 7:01:62. The first in, Rachael Bradford-Feldman (1:47:21), handed off to Mallory Comerford in fifth. Comerford’s time of 1:41:12 was the fastest split of the field and jumped Louisville to second place. Sophie Cattermole went 1:46:57 and Abigail Houck finished at 1:46:72.
Louisville did not medal in the 3-meter dive. Freshman Molly Fears finished eighth with a 252.10 score. Andrea Acquista finished 10th with a score of 290.05.
U of L head coach Arthur Albiero praised the team’s performance in the relay events. Despite two medals, he feels the team can improve as the team prepares for the NCAA Championships in March.
“The real good news is that we had good relays tonight with great room for improvement at the NCAA Championships,” Albiero said. “Obviously, Mallory Comerford’s split in the 800 free relay was special. We had quite a few new faces playing important roles and that bodes well for the second session.”
After the first day, Louisville sits in second with 149 points, four shy of leaders, North Carolina. Duke trails with 144 points to round off the top three.
Day two will begin at 10 a.m. with prelims for the 500 free relay, the 200 individual medley, the 50 free and women’s 1-meter. The 200 freestyle relay and the finals of these events will begin at 6 p.m.
