Nov. 18, 2006
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Navy women's swimming & diving freshman Mallory Dietrich (Pittsburgh, Pa.) assisted in scoring 46 points as the Midshipmen concluded the three-day Terrapin Cup Invitational with 217 points for 10th-place on Saturday evening.
"We had a very good day with strong finishes all around," stated Navy head coach John Morrison. "I am very proud of the effort we showed going up against some quality, rested competition."
West Virginia won the invitational with a team score of 641.5 points, while Kansas totaled 609 points for second place and host Maryland amassed 370.5 points to land in third.
Dietrich tallied 14 points in the 200-yard breaststroke finals with a fifth-place time of 2:18.81. The clocking ranks as the second-fastest in program history, while her 2:20.59 showing during the prelims in the morning places her eighth on the all-time list. She also swam the team's fastest time in the prelims of the 200-yard butterfly with a 2:07.41 showing.
The Pittsburgh, Pa., native ended the invitational by serving as the second leg of the quickest 400-yard freestyle relay in school history. Freshman Thuy-Mi Dinh (Anaheim, Calif.), Dietrich, sophomore Kelly Zahalka (Richmond, Va.) and freshman Sara Dorenkott (Hudson, Ohio) teamed up to produce a third-place time of 3:26.00, 0.99-second faster than the record set two years ago at the Patriot League Championship.
"Our freestyle relay swam really hard in breaking the school record," said Morrison. "I was quite proud of how Mallory (Dietrich) and Kelly (Zahalka) were able to come back after their performances earlier in the evening."
Dinh and Dorenkott also etched their names in the record books in the 100-yard freestyle event on Saturday. Dinh qualified for the finals with a 51.59-second showing, fourth-best in program history, during the morning prelims. The product of Anaheim, Calif., came back in the evening to post the fifth-best time in school history with a time of 51.61 seconds to land seventh.
Following a 51.83-second performance during the prelims, ranking as the school's eighth-best time all-time, Dorenkott produced the fastest time in the consolation finals and second-quickest clocking in program history with a time of 51.32 seconds.
Sophomore Jennie Spencer (Smithburg, W. Va.) came in second during the non-scoring bonus finals in the 200-yard backstroke with a 2:04.35 showing, the second-fastest time in her career and in program history. She recorded a 2:06.27 clocking, the sixth-best in school history, during the morning prelims.
The Midshipmen return to action on Thursday, Nov. 30, when they travel up to West Point to take on Army in the Star Meet. The action is slated to begin at 3:45 p.m. Navy extended its N-Star winning streak to 17 meets with a 188.5-111.5 victory over the Black Knights in Annapolis last season.
