NORFOLK, Va. - Winners of 10 of the last 11 Atlantic 10 Championships, the Richmond swimming & diving team opens the 2012-13 season this weekend in a dual meet with UNC-Wilmington and Old Dominion.
The two-day meet will be held Friday at 4 p.m. and Saturday at 10 a.m. at Old Dominion's J.C. "Scrap" Chandler Pool at the Student Recreation Center.
This is the third-straight season that the Spiders have opened the season with a dual meet with UNCW and ODU and the second time it has been at ODU.
Richmond, which graduated six seniors, returns a strong core of talent, led by captains Lauren Hines, Mina Vucic, Mali Kobelja and Jessie Krebs.
Hines won seven medals at last year's Atlantic 10 Championship, including five golds. The senior competed at the NCAA Championships and qualified for the Olympic Trials in both the 100 and 200-meter backstroke.
Vucic, who was named Atlantic 10 Academic All-Conference last year as a junior, earned points for the Spiders in both the 50 freestyle and 100 freestyle at last year's A-10 Championship. She Collected two gold medals at the 2011 conference meet as a member of the 400 medley and 400 freestyle relays.
Krebs, a junior, earned points at the 2012 Atlantic 10 Championship in both the 500 freestyle and 1,650 free. She finished with three gold medals and one silver at the 2011 A-10 Championship.
Kobelja, the Most Outstanding Performer at last February's Atlantic 10 Championship, was named A-10 Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year as just a sophomore. Kobelja, who set A-10 meet records in the 200 and 400 IM, qualified for last summer's Olympic Trials in the 200 IM.
