WASHINGTON, D.C. - Heather Magill swept the diving events, leading the VMI swimming and diving programs in a dual meet against American Saturday afternoon in Washington, D.C. The Keydets came out on the short end of the dual, with the VMI women (0-3) dropping a 164-58 decision and the Keydet men (0-4) falling 161-58.
Magill posted two of VMI's five wins on the day, three of which came in women's events. She captured the title in one-meter by posting a score of 235.35 and winning by nearly seven full points, before edging out her closest foe in the three-meter by less than a point and scoring 235.05.
Sophia DelBondio also prevailed in an event Saturday, winning the 50 free with a time of 25.35. She came within just .06 seconds of the Keydet record in the event and led a VMI sweep of the top two spots, as Natalie Rivas was second in 25.50.
Both Rivas and DelBondio returned later in the meet to swim with Shelby Barkley and Haley Scott on VMI's top 200 free relay team, which set a new school freshman record with its 1:44.57 time that was good for a second place finish. DelBondio also finished fourth in the 100 free (57.08), while Rivas swam anchor on VMI's top 200 medley relay team, a squad that finished second in 1:58.35.
McKenzie Raber continued her strong start to her collegiate career, as she finished second in the 500 free with a new VMI record time of 5:25.33. The time was over eight seconds under the school record that she set last week at the CCSA North Invite.
On the men's side, VMI took the top spot in the 200 free relay, as Connor McMahon, Christian Rowcliffe, Christian Purdy and John Kelly teamed up for a 1:28.70 clocking, with Kelly finishing it off with a blistering 21.60 circuit. To put that into perspective, Kelly took top honors in the 50 free with a time of 22.36, an event that also saw McMahon finish third in 22.55.
Both Kelly and McMahon were also involved in the 100 free, where McMahon touched the wall second in 49.06 and Kelly was third in 49.34.
In addition, Jeff Whiteman finished second in the 1000 free with a time of 10:36.71 and Steven Seay was third in the 200 breast, timing in at 2:25.59.
The Keydets will return to action Nov. 8, as VMI travels to Baltimore, Md. to take part in a tri-meet with Loyola (Md.) and Howard. Action gets underway at 1 p.m.
