Marina Falcone Obliterates School, CAA Records in the 500 Free

Junior Posts One of Two NCAA Qualifications for Tribe

11/15/07 10:30PM

COLLEGE PARK, MD - Junior Marina Falcone (Potomac, Md.) set the tone early for the William and Mary women’s swimming and diving team, tearing past both the school and conference records in the 500 freestyle to take second with an NCAA “B” qualifying time of 4:51.15. With six events in the books, the Tribe stands third with 176 points, behind Connecticut (222) and Maryland (183).

First Day Results

In the evening’s first event, the 200 free relay team of Lindsay Guers (Orwigsburg, Pa.), Emily Burns (Snellville, Ga.), Falcone, and Katie Radloff (Arlington, Va.) took second in 1:34.27, tying the school record set at last year’s CAA Championships. The team of Haley Smith (Ridgefield, Conn.), Christina Monsees (Brewster, N.Y.), Sara Fitzsimmons (Lorton, Va.), and Meredith David (Somerdale, N.J.) posted the eighth-best time of the evening in 1:39.64.

In the 500 free, Falcone’s time blew by her own school record of 4:56.39, set at this event last year. It also surpassed the conference record of 4:53.66 set by Towson’s Liz Lebherz at last year’s CAA Championships, and gives Falcone her first individual NCAA qualification. Guers was eighth in 5:04.29, and sophomore Tage Waite (Norfolk, Va.) finished 18th with a personal-best effort of 5:05.37, making her the seventh-fastest performer in school history. Freshman Clare LeGuyader (East Islip, N.Y.) tied for 20th in a collegiate-best time of 5:08.55.

Courtney Alles (Manassas Park, Va.) placed eighth in the 200 IM in 2:09.21 to score 11 points for the team, and junior Whitney Pezza (Warrenton, Va.) scored seven points in 10th place with a time of 2:09.17. Laura Herrmann (Fairfax Station, Va.) was right behind Pezza in 11th place, timing 2:09.28 to move into 10th on the Tribe’s all-time top-10 list. Erin Welshofer (Charlotte, N.C.) timed 2:12.22 to place 21st.

In the 50 free, Radloff defended her event crown with an NCAA “B” qualifying time of 22.92. Her time also tied the school-record she set last spring at the CAA Championships. Guers picked up her second eighth-place showing of the night with a time of 23.94, and Burns placed 14th in 24.27. David timed 24.66 to place 20th, and Smith pulled in at 24th in 25.21.

In the 400 medley relay, the team of David, Suzanne Figuers (Cary, N.C.), Pezza, and Radloff timed 3:50.97 to take third. Their performance ranks fourth-best in school history, and makes David the lead-off swimmer on each of the Tribe’s all-time top-five relay teams. Herrmann swam lead-off on the College’s second team in the event, timing 59.72 for the 100 yards of backstroke, the 10th-best performance in school history.

The Terrapin Cup Invitational continues tomorrow with eight events.

2007 Terrapin Cup Invitational
Standings after Day One
1. Connecticut 222
2. Maryland 183
3. WILLIAM AND MARY 176
4. Richmond 148
5. Villanova 139
6. West Chester 123
7. Navy 112
8. Drexel 95
9. Mary Washington 42