By Nelson Helm, Swimming World College Intern
The homestretch of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference is upon us. With the championship meet less than a week away, swimmers and coaches are adding the final touches as they prepare to swim against the conference’s best at the Greensboro Aquatic Center. As the conference looks to make the leap to the national level on both the men and women’s side, here are five things to watch at the 2015 ODAC Championship.
Photo Courtesy: Grove City College Athletics
1.The Team Title Race
With this being the inaugural year for the men’s conference, bragging rights are on the line. Washington and Lee has dominated the dual meets it has swum, losing only to perennial national power Carnegie Mellon. Among those wins was a dual meet win against Randolph-Macon, but the meet was a lot closer than the score-line indicated. A couple of clutch swims from Washington and Lee kept the meet from going to Randolph-Macon. In a rematch at the 2014 Yellow Jacket Invite, Washington and Lee once again came out on top, but not before Randolph-Macon took the lead going into the final session. It will be interesting to see which team wins out: Washington and Lee and its depth, or Randolph-Macon with its few studs.
2. ODAC Records & the National Scene
The ODAC record has already been set this year in a couple of events: the women’s 200 IM, 200 freestyle and 100 breaststroke. The women who broke those records are hoping to break them again—while also making NCAA cuts in the process. Emory and Henry and Washington and Lee sophomores Michaela Nolte (100 breaststroke, 1:05.46), Emily Rollo (200 IM, 2:08.20) and Elisabeth Holmes (200 free, 1:53.37) are all within striking distance of NCAA ‘B’ cuts in their respective events and are all hoping to break through to the national scene. Watch for Nolte and Holmes to battle it out in the 800 free relay—Nolte was 1:54.45 leading off at the Union Invitational.
3. Men’s 50 Freestyle
This is going to be an exciting race for all to watch, especially since the top two swimmers are separated by 25 hundredths. In the two times that Randolph-Macon sophomore Mohamed Saleh and Washington and Lee freshman Tommy Thetford have raced, Thetford has come out on top, but not by much. It will be interesting to see if the sophomore will be able to come out on top when it counts the most. It will also be interesting to see if Thetford will be close to the 2014 NCAA Invited time of 20.64, a good indication of if the freshman will make the NCAA Championship meet in March.
4. 100 Backstroke
A mixture of incoming and returning talent will make both the men’s and women’s 100 backstroke an exciting race. On the women’s side, Washington and Lee has the top incoming swimmer, freshmen Kira Tomenchok, and the reigning ODAC champion in junior Stephanie Foster. Tomenchok has been close to the NCAA ‘B’ cut already this year, going 58.13 back in November. Foster achieved the ‘B’ cut last year when she went 57.76, setting a new ODAC record in the process. Also be on the lookout for Washington and Lee’s Caroline Hamp and Emory and Henry’s Jessica Richardon and Marina Moore, who have all been close to breaking a minute in the event.
On the men’s side, the star of the show is Randolph-Macon senior Bobby Brajdic, who leads the rest of the field by almost a second. Brajdic is looking to break through to the national scene also. To do so, he will have to drop over a second from his seed time (51.78) to be in contention to be invited to the meet. But, on his heels, are teammate Mohamed Saleh and Washington and Lee sophomore Brendan Haley. Haley is making his return to the ODAC after taking a year off. Haley made the NCAA Championship meet his freshman year, and will look to go again this year.
5. Men’s 200 Medley Relay
Photo Courtesy: Kevin Remington
All that separates Washington and Lee and Randolph-Macon’s 200 Medley Relay teams are seven hundredths of a second. At the 2014 Yellow Jacket Invitational, Washington and Lee overtook Randolph-Macon on the freestyle leg at the finish, out touching the Yellow Jackets 1:36.21 to 1:36.28. In a meet that could be determined by a couple of big swims, this relay will be a momentum grabber for the team that wins it.