BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA – The first day of the NCAA Division II Swimming & Diving Championships could not have gone much better for the University of the Incarnate Word with the men and women each boasting an individual national champion at the Birmingham Crossplex on Wednesday. (Results)

Senior Mark Rubin (Phoenix, AZ/Shadow Mountain HS) gave notice to the rest of the field that the UIW men's team is going to be a contender for the team title.  He swam a school record time of 9:02.85 in the 1000-yard freestyle and won by nearly seven seconds giving him his first national title.  It was his 12th career All-America citation.  Fellow senior Conrado Chede (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil/Faria Brito HS) added a 12th place finish to earn Honorable Mention All-America honors.

Senior Tamiris Nascimento (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil/Salesianos) followed shortly with her own national title in the women's 50-yard freestyle.  She out-touched Ashland's Julie Widmann at the wall to win by 3-hundredths of a second in 22.76.  It was her second career national title and 20th All-America award.  Teammate Meghann McGoldrick (San Antonio/Churchill HS) swam her fastest time of the year, 23.55, to earn 13th place and garner Honorable Mention All-America honors.

The UIW women had three swimmers score in the 1000 freestyle.  Molly Freeman (Houston/Clear Brook HS) led the team with an 11th place finish in a time of 10:11.09.  Mikayla Felchak (Tomball/Tomball HS) followed closely behind in 12th place with a time of 10:12.47 while Kaitlyn Whalen (Apopka, FL/Apopka HS) was 16th in a time of 10:16.26.  All three earned Honorable Mention All-America honors.

While Rubin won the 1000 freestyle for the men, the team picked up more points in the 200-yard individual medley.  Evandro Silva (Guaruja, Brazil/Colegio do Carmo) and Daniel Torres (Chihuahua, Mexico/COBACH 3) each broke the school record in the event.  Silva was the national runner-up in a time of 1:46.09 while Torres took a close fourth in 1:47.00.

The women finished up the day with a seventh place finish in the 200-yard medley relay.  The team of Kelsey Cooke (Phoenix, AZ/Thunderbird HS), Adrienne Morrow (Hot Springs, AR/Hot Springs HS), McGoldrick and Nascimento broke the school record with a time of 1:43.60.

The men also fared well in the 200 medley relay taking fifth place.  Torres led off and was followed by Thiago Parravicini (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil/C.E.L.), Joey Reeves (San Antonio/Home School) and Alex Brouwer (Scottsdale, AZ/Notre Dame Prep) as the team clocked in at 1:28.69.

Both the men and women are currently in third place in the team standings.  The women have 60 points and trail Drury (104) and Wingate (74).  The men have 85 points and are behind Drury (109) and Florida Southern (89).





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