Feb. 25, 2012
FAIRFAX, Va. - Senior Arni Arnason was named the Colonial Athletic Association's Most Outstanding Swimmer for the second straight season as the Old Dominion men's and women's swimming and diving squads concluded CAA Championship action on Saturday night.
The Old Dominion men's swimming and diving team concluded the championships in fourth place with 515 points. UNC-W captured the CAA title for the 11 consecutive year with 683 points followed by George Mason with 626 points, and William & Mary with 549 points.
The Old Dominion women's swimming and diving team ended the championships in fifth place with 327.5 points. James Madison took home the women's title with 771 followed by Towson in second with 625 points, UNC-W in third with 494 points, and William & Mary in fourth with 476.5 points.
Arnason posted his third individual and fourth overall CAA title on Saturday by winning the 200 breaststroke. His time of 1:56.24 gave him another CAA Championship and ODU record, besting his own previous mark by .20 seconds.
In addition to his 200 breaststroke title, Arnason captured titles and reset championship and school records in the 200 individual medley and 100 breaststroke. He also helped set a new ODU record as a member of the 400 medley relay squad. All of Arnason's times were NCAA "B" cut marks.
The final day of championship action opened with the 1650 freestyle with Monarchs and Lady Monarchs placing their names all over the record books.
On the women's side, four Lady Monarchs were among the top 16 finishers. Yesim Giresunlu lead the pack with a third place finish and new ODU benchmark by three seconds with her time of 16:42.59. Also in the top 16 were Danielle Naylor in 11th (17:03.12), followed by Laura Cemple in 12th (17:05.99), and Abby Vance in 16th (17:12.03).
Bernardo Figuredo led the men with a third place finish, a NCAA "B" cut time, and new Monarch record. His time of 15:23.90 in the 1650 freestyle reset the former mark that has been held by Jimmy Sullivan since 1999. Additionally, Andrew Cook took fifth (15:42.12) and put his name fifth all-time on the record list, and Jason Brame clock in with the eighth fastest time in school history (15:50.90).
More school marks were made in the 200 backstroke. The Lady Monarchs' Kimberley Rashleigh bested her school record by .32 seconds with her time of 1:58.54 to take second place and record a NCAA "B" cut. For the men, Dogus Akay swam in the consolation finals to a 14th place finish and put his name at eighth all-time in the event in the school records with his time of 1:52.33.
In the 100 freestyle, 50 freestyle champion Sidni Hoxha took second place. In addition to his time of 44.31 capturing a NCAA"B" cut time, he also tied the school record. For the women, Emma Forbes competed in the consolations finals to take 12th coming in at the 52.03 mark.
In the 200 breast, in addition to Arnason's first place finish, the Monarchs' Jason Haigh finished in third place hitting the wall in a time of 2:01.30 with the second fastest time in ODU history behind Arnason. Jobin Bahminipour competed in the consolation finals finishing in 12th with his time of 2:04.92.
For the women, Erla Haraldsdottir registered a third place finish in the 100 breaststroke with her time of 2:13.93, while Laura Cemple took 15th in the consolation finals in a time of 2:23.90.
In the 200 butterfly, Lady Monarch Jessica Hubert claimed eighth place registering a time of 2:02.95. On the men's side, Daniel Camozzo logged a time of 1:52.63 in the consolation finals to take 10th.
Diving also wrapped up on Saturday with the men's 3 meter. The Monarchs' Mitchell Ortiz scored a 222.50 in the finals to take seventh.
The championships concluded with the 400 freestyle relays. The ODU men took third place as Arni Arnason, Daniel Camozzo, Andrew Crockett, and Sidni Hoxha swam to a time of 3:01.38. For the women, Kimberley Rashleigh, Erla Haraldsdottir, Savannah Bowers, and Emma Fobers combined for a time of 3:27.68, which placed the squad in seventh, but was also the third fastest time in ODU history.
Complete results of the 2012 CAA Swimming & Diving championships are available here.
Men - Team Rankings - FINAL
1. University of North Carolina W - 683
2. George Mason University - 626
3. William and Mary - 549
4. Old Dominion University - 515
5. Delaware - 422
6. Drexel University - 287
7. Towson University - 269
Women - Team Rankings - FINAL
1. James Madison University - 771
2. Towson University - 625
3. University of North Carolina W - 494
4. William and Mary - 476.5
5. Old Dominion University - 327.5
6. Northeastern University - 276
7. George Mason University - 253
8. Delaware - 238
9. Drexel University - 134