Kim Routh Wins ACC Titles in the 500 Freestyle and 1650 Freestyle

Feb. 20, 2005

Complete Results

The Clemson women’s swimming and diving team finished the 2005 Atlantic Coast Conference Championship in seventh place with 219 points on Saturday at the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center.

Junior All-American Kim Routh opened the final day of competition by winning the 1650 free with a time of 16:18.26, winning the event by more than four seconds. The time betters her previous school record by more than five seconds, and was good for an NCAA “A” Standard, automatically qualifying her for the NCAA Championship. With her ACC title in the 500 free on Thursday, Routh becomes the first Clemson female swimmer to win multiple individual ACC titles in the same season since 1999 when Jennifer Mihalik won the 100 back and the 200 back. Routh is Clemson’s first ACC Champion in the 500 free since Paulette Russell in 1993 and the Tigers’ first champion in the 1650 free since Michele Richardson in 1992. Mihalik, Richardson, and Russell were each named to the ACC 50th Anniversary Team.

Nichole Carlton finished in 13th-place in the 1650 free with a time of 16:51.98, her season-best time. Carlton’s finish earned four team points for Clemson. Christine Anseeuw finished the 100 free in 14th place with a time of 51.55.

Ashley Shafer earned an 11th-place finish (2:19.12) and Sarah Cefalu finished in 16th place (2:18.91) in the 200 breast. Cefalu’s time was her fastest of the season.

Maryland captured its first-ever ACC Swimming and Diving Championship with 655 points. Maryland’s Chrissy Miller was named the 2005 Most Valuable Swimmer. The senior was a member of three winning Terrapin relays, while collecting two individual titles and one second-place finish.