COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The Virginia women’s swimming team finished in 12th place with 117 points at the 2009 NCAA Championships, which wrapped up Saturday. The three-day event was held at the Student Rec Center Natatorium on Texas A&M’s campus.

Virginia’s 12th-place finish is the highest since 2002 when the Cavaliers also placed 12th overall.

“It was a tremendous performance,” Virginia head coach Mark Bernardino said. “We battled in every single race for each other and it was just a great finish. It was been a nice progression over the last three years, and to move from 20th to 12th in one year is tremendous. I was really hoping for a top-15 finish and we were able to do a little bit better than that. These kids earned everything they got with their hard work and dedication.”

Junior Mei Christensen was UVa’s top finisher on Saturday, placing sixth in the 200 backstroke. She earned her second All-America award of the championships, finishing in a time of 1:52.82. She also earned a fifth-place finish in the 100 backstroke earlier in the meet.

Senior Megan Evo earned honorable mention All-America accolades with an 11th-place finish in the 200 butterfly. It was her second All-America nod of the championships, following a 13th-place performance in the 200 individual medley.

“Both Mei and Megan had so many races and they both came up huge,” Bernardino continued. “That is an incredible work load for anyone and they just came out and performed so well on every single relay.”

Junior Jen Narum also collected honorable mention All-America honors with a 14th-place finish in the 1650 freestyle. She finished in 16:08.20.

Virginia’s 400 freestyle relay team of Christensen, Kristen Wallace, Kristen Moores and Evo finished 14th overall in a time of 3:16.87. The quartet claimed honorable mention All-America honors.

All five of Virginia’s relays at the championships earned All-America or honorable mention All-America accolades.

“That was one of the most important goals all year long,” Bernardino said. “The success of our relays shows our unity and closeness and that was reflected in those races.”

Seniors Megan Evo and Kristen Wallace competed for the final time for the Orange and Blue.

2009 NCAA Women’s Championships
Final Team Standings