CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - The University of Virginia men's and women's swimming and diving teams combined to win 11 of 12 events contested in the first day of competition of the 2000 Cavalier Invitational Thursday (November 30) at the UVa Aquatic and Fitness Center. The Cavaliers lead the three-day men's invitational with 417 points, while the Virginia women tallied 371 points and also took the lead after the first day of competition.

In the six-team men's invitational, Virginia has scored 417 points to take nearly a 200-point lead on Yale, which is second with 220 points. West Virginia is third with 188 points, followed closely by West Chester in fourth place with 178 points. William & Mary and Central Connecticut round out the six teams with 86 and 73 points, respectively. On the women's side, UVa has totaled 371 points and Yale is second with 211. West Virginia stands third with 169 points, four points ahead of West Chester (165). William & Mary is fifth with 121 points, followed by Central Connecticut in sixth with 114.

Virginia won all six finals in the first day of competition. UVa first-year Luke Anderson (Charlottesville, Va./Bolles School) won the 50 free with a time of 20.88 and also swam the leadoff leg of UVa's winning 200 freestyle relay (1:23.60). First-year Jon Haag (Ashland, Ohio/Ashland), third-year Matt Lee (Munster, Ind./Munster) and fourth-year Troy Johnson (St. George, Utah/Dixie) also swam legs on the victorious relay. Lee and Johnson also teamed with first-years Luke Wagner (Greenwood, Colo./Regis Jesuit) and Gary Marshall (Bartlesville, Okla./Bartlesville) to win the 400 medley relay with a time of 3:22.58. First-year Ian Prichard (Ventura, Calif./Buena) won the 500 free with a time of 4:24.86, while fourth-year teammate Jamie Grimes (Olney, Md./Sherwood) placed second in 4:27.91. Second-year Guy Yimsomruay (Bangkok, Thailand/Germantown Academy) claimed the 200 individual medley by nearly three seconds as he posted a time of 1:49.52. Third-year diver Joe Piorkowski (Easton, Pa./Easton) rounded out UVa's individual event winners as he won the one-meter diving competition with 274.95 points.

The Virginia women took the top spot in five of six events in the first day of competition. The Cavaliers claimed the 200 free and 400 medley relay titles with fourth-year Megan Iffland (Wilmington, Del./St. Mark's) and third-years Caitlin Anderson (Charlottesville, Va./St. Anne's-Belfield) and Megan Roesch (Columbia, Md./Wilde Lake) swimming legs on both relays. In the 200 free relay, first-year Jenna Bridges (Jacksonville, Fla./Bolles School) joined Iffland, Anderson and Roesch and the foursome combined to turn in a time of 1:35.02. In the 400 medley relay, UVa posted a winning time of 3:52.39 with first-year Carlie Dykehouse (Gainesville, Fla./Trinity Prep) combining with Iffland, Anderson and Roesch. Iffland was also second in the 50 free with a time of 23.68. Dominique Diezi, who was swimming unattached, won the 50 in 23.48 seconds. Second-year Cara Lane (Charlotte, N.C./Providence) led a top-four UVa sweep in the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:47.29. First-year Amy Baly (Atlanta, Ga./Marist School) was second in the 500 free in 4:48.31, while Dykehouse clocked a time of 4:49.79 to finish third. Second-year Mirjana Bosevska (Skopje, Macedonia/Trinity Prep) was fourth in the 500 in 4:53.71. Bosevska also won the 200 individual medley with a time of 2:03.87, while Bridges was second in 2:05.19. Second-year Alison Sharp (Newton, Pa./Council Rock) rounded out the Cavaliers' individual event winners as she scored 254.90 points to win the one-meter diving competition.

The three-day 2000 Cavalier Invitational continues on Friday with preliminaries beginning at 10:00 a.m. and finals taking place at 6:00 p.m.