Wayne State (Mich.) hangs on for title

MANSFIELD, Texas -– In the end, it was Drury (again) for the men, Wayne State (Mich.) for the first time for the women. And in all, 13 records were set — nine in the men and four in the women — at the 2012 Division II Swimming and Diving Championship.

The Wayne State (Mich.) women claimed their first title by holding off defending champions Drury by one point.

2012 DIVISION II CHAMPIONSHIPS
Final Results:  Event-by-Event | Records Set | Record Book
Day 4 Results  Championship Photos
Day 3 Results
Full Day 3 Replay: Men  Women
Feature: Two heads are better than one at UCSD
Day 2 Results
Full Day 2 Replay: Men  Women
Feature: Alaska-Anchorage builds winner
Day 1 Results
Full Day 1 Replay: Men  Women
Feature: Nova Southeastern makes waves

Wayne State entered Saturday with a 54.5-point advantage against the three-year defending champion, but the Panthers whittled the Warriors’ advantage down to nine points entering the final event of the night, the 400 freestyle relay.

Drury won the relay, but by virtue of a third-place finish by Ashley Corriveau, Gloria Martinez Perez, Kayla Scott, and Kei Cze Prentis, the Warriors held on to win the national championship by the slimmest of margins.

Wayne State had been the runner-up each of the past three years to Drury, which has finished first or second at the NCAA Championships each year since 1997.

“I’ve always believed in our athletes,” Wayne State head coach Sean Peters after taking his celebratory jump into the pool.

“We weren’t the biggest dog in this fight, that’s for sure. We went out there and we believed in each other. Sometimes that’s all it takes.

“I’m not going to lie, it feels great to hold this championship trophy,” he said.

The women’s title is the first national championship in any sport for Wayne State since the women’s fencing team won the 1989 NCAA Championship.

The Warriors, who claimed four relay national titles during the four-day meet, added their fourth individual title Saturday night as Carol Azambuja won the 200 backstroke.

The final 11 individual champions were crowned Saturday night at the Division II Swimming and Diving Championship. 

The Drury men won their eighth consecutive national title.

“I’m just thrilled,” Drury head coach Brian Reynolds said. “We had to rebuild from the bottom up. We saw a lot of really great things and we are excited for the future.”

Drury’s Erin Dolan won the women’s 1,650-yard freestyle with a time 16:33.00. She outpaced her closest rival, Kassandra McNichol of West Chester, by 15 seconds.

“It just feels good to win,” she said after stepping down from the podium. “My team has been backing me up for four years and my coach has been amazing. It’s just awesome. I love the mile – it’s just my favorite.”

Iaroslav Denysenko won the men’s 1,650-yard freestyle by posting a time of 15:13.74. It was his third trophy of the finals for this Wingate sophomore. He won the 1,000 freestyle on Wednesday and set an NCAA record in 500 freestyle, winning the season-ending distance event for the second year in a row with a time of 4:21.48.

Wingate head coach Kirk Sanocki says Denysenko’s victory was a result of staying focused.

“Iaroslav cut his foot [on Friday,]” Sanocki said. “He had a very busy day. I was impressed with the way Iaroslav kept his composure.”

Melissa Gates just missed an NCAA record by posting a time of 49.34 in the women’s 100-yard freestyle. The record is held by Loni Burton of CSU Bakersfield, who in 2005 swam the freestyle in 49.33.

“It was quite a win, and really exciting,” the senior from California (Pa.) said. “I finished third last season, so my goal all season was to win a championship. So I did that.”

Ana Azambuja won her second event of the week, by posting a time of 1:57.08 in the 200-yard backstroke.  Earlier this week, she was part of the Wayne State’s winning relay teams and she claimed the women’s 100-yard freestyle with a time of 1:48.16.

Jeffrey Halfacre turned in a record time in the 200-yard backstroke. Halfacre, a Florida Southern junior, posted a time of 1:43.41.

He felt good heading in to the race.

“I had a feeling [I could break the record.] You just go out there and give it all you got and hopefully something good comes out it,” he said.  “It certainly did tonight.”

UC San Diego’s Emily Adamczyk won the women’s 200-yard backstroke with a 2:13.18.

Grand Canyon’s Eetu Karvonen and Incarnate Word’s Thiago Parravicini set record times in the men’s 200-yard backstroke. Karvonen won the event with a 1:56.11 swim. While Parravicini posted a 1:56.15 time. Both men broke the record of 1:57.19 set in 2011 by UC San Diego’s Nicholas Korth.

Christopher White of St. Cloud State won the men’s 3 meter diving.

Both the Drury men’s and women’s team won the 400 freestyle relay. The women’s team posted a 3:21.97 mark and the men finished with a record time of 2:56.42.