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BLACKSBURG, Va. –Kelly deMarrais, Katarina Filova, Erika Hajnal and Lauren Ritter will represent the Virginia Tech H₂Okies at the 2010 NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships this weekend, March 18-20, at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind.

“We are looking forward to this week’s women’s NCAA Championships and representing Virginia Tech,” said H₂Okie head coach Ned Skinner. “The four ladies have all had great seasons and look to peak at the fastest meet in the country.”

deMarrais, Filova, Hajnal and Ritter qualified in the 800 freestyle relay after posting a school-record finish in 7:06.93 at the ACC Championships, earning runner-up honors. Additionally, deMarrais will swim in the 200 and 500 freestyle events, Filova in the 50, 100 and 200 freestyles, Ritter in the 200, 500 and 1650 freestyles and Hajnal will join Ritter in the 500 and 1650 freestyles and also swim in the 400 IM.

Filova earned second-team All-ACC honors in the 200 freestyle and third-team honors in the 100 freestyle, setting a school-record mark in the 200 free in 1:45.71. Hajnal earned first-team All-ACC honors in the 500 and 1650 freestyles and third-team honors in the 400 IM. Hajnal set school-record times in the 500 free and the 400 IM with marks of 4:40.03 and 4:10.78, respectively.

Last season, the women finished 34^th at the NCAA’s with 13.5 points. Sara Smith posted a team-high 11^th-place finish in the 50 freestyle. Hajnal, the only returning qualifier, finished 13^th in the 1650 free (16:07.76), 22^nd in the 400 IM (4:11.74) and 30^th in the 500 free (4:43.25) last year.

For updates on Virginia Tech swimming & diving, follow the Hokies on Twitter (@VT_SwimDive).