Dukes sink at CAA championships

Webber, JMU swim well, but George Mason still wins title

The women's swimming and diving team closed its season with an eighth-place finish at the Colonial Athletic Association Championship at George Mason University in Fairfax, finishing ahead of Drexel University and the College of Charleston.

The Patriots, who hosted the event, won the women's conference championship.

Mary Webber, the only graduating senior on the team, competed in several freestyle events, placing fourth in the 100-yard freestyle, 13th in the 200- and 15th in the 50-yard freestyle.

The Dukes performed strongly in other freestyle events as well.

In the 50-yard freestyle, the team had four swimmers qualify for the finals heat. Freshman Allison Keel was the top finisher for the Dukes in the event, as she swam a 24.27 seconds to place seventh, while sophomore Megan Loucks and junior Christine Filak rounded out the four with 13th and 14th places, respectively.

JMU sent five swimmers to the finals in the 100-yard freestyle. Of the five, Webber took fourth, Keel finished ninth, Loucks followed right behind in 10th and freshmen Stefanie Cromarty and Patty Rawlick completed the consolation heat in 15th and 16th places.

"I think that the meet went great," Keel said. "We had a lot of great swims, and it was fun watching everyone swim their best."

Sophomore diver Lisa Enders, who was named CAA Co-Performer of the Week for the week ending Jan. 11, was the only Duke to place in both the 1-meter and 3-meter dives. She finished ninth in the 1-meter and 15th in the 3-meter dive.

Filak earned a fifth-place finish in the 200-yard backstroke and an eighth place finish in the 100-yard backstroke.

Junior Sarah Jane Bova took 12th in the 200-yard backstroke. Junior Lauren Scott placed seventh in the 100-yard butterfly, and sophomore Erin Meritt finished ninth in the 200-yard butterfly.

JMU received more solid swims during the 100-yard breaststroke from freshmen Janal Danchak, Erin O'Donnell and Sarah Bolger, as they placed 10th, 13th and 15th, respectively.

The relay teams consistently did well throughout the course of the season at duals, and did not disappoint at the CAA finals. Earning a fourth-place finish in the 20-yard medley relay was the team of Filak, Danchak, Scott and Keel. The combination of Filak, Louks, Webber and Keel posted another fourth-place finish in the 200-yard freestyle relay. The top finish for the Dukes in relays came in the 400-yard freestyle, when the team of Keel, Cromarty, Loucks and Webber, finished third.