Dukes cruise past Radford

JMU defeats two nonconference opponents in home dual meet

Natasha Laptik / staff photographer After losing to George Mason University Friday, JMU came back strong by defeating Radford University and Wagner College in a home dual meet Saturday.

JMU received a major boost in confidence as it defeated both Radford University and Wagner College in a dual meet, an out-of-conference matchup, at home Saturday.

Coming off a crushing defeat to George Mason University the previous day, JMU beat Radford, 152-55, and Wagner, 140-71, to improve its record to 3-6 overall.

JMU controlled the meet from start to finish. The Dukes placed first and second in the 200-yard medley relay. Following a first-place finish for Wagner in the 1,000-yard freestyle, JMU ran off a streak of five straight first-place finishes.

Though victories have been scarce this year, JMU feels it has an abundance of talent just waiting to explode, according to coach Nancy Bercaw. Of the team's 35 swimmers, 16 are freshmen, 13 are sophomores and five are juniors.

"We are going to have a very nice team when those freshmen are seniors," Bercaw said. "They have progressed tremendously."

Those freshmen played a major role in the wins over Radford and Wagner. Freshman Allison Keel had two first-place finishes, one in the 200-yard freestyle, and the other in the 100-yard freestyle. She also was part of the the team's first-place finish in the 200-yard medley relay, which also consisted of freshman Erin O'Donnell and juniors Christine Filak and Lauren Scott. Of JMU's six victories in individual events, four came from freshmen.

"We've had a tough time getting wins, but, either way, our freshmen have progressed very well," Dive Coach Warrick Mann said.

Senior Mary Webber, the only senior on the team, had one of the first-place finishes for JMU, which came in the 100-yard butterfly. She just missed another event victory, losing to Wagner's Molly McDonald by .05 seconds.

With Webber being the only senior on the team, she said her role as team leader has taken on much greater importance. She takes freshmen under her wing to help them become better swimmer.

"I cheer for them and encourage them," Webber said. "I do whatever I can to help them out."

While their record is nowhere they want it to be, the Dukes feel they have performed much better than their record indicates. They are disappointed in the victory count, but are pleased with individual performances.

"Let me put it into context — disappointing. It's disappointing we haven't won," Bercaw said. "The girls have swum very fast, but the competition has been a bit faster than us. But, in terms of swimming quickly, our girls have gotten personal bests."

Other first-place finishes for JMU came from freshman Patty Rawlick in the 200-yard individual medley and O'Donnell in the 100-yard breaststroke. JMU recorded sweeps in the 50-yard freestyle, 100-yard freestyle and 100-yard breaststroke.

JMU will take its victories over Radford and Wagner and head to Norfolk Jan. 31 to compete against Old Dominion University in search of the team's first Colonial Athletic Association win.