Swimming And Diving Competes In Two Meets At UNC-W

Friday, January 30

Wilmington, N.C.

6 p.m.

Georgia Southern University

UNC Wilmington

1/31/2015 10:23:00 PM | Swimming and Diving

By: Erika Brennan

Wilmington, NC. – In their final warm-up prior to the CCSA Championships, the Eagles traveled to Wilmington, North Carolina for a relay meet on Friday and a traditional meet Saturday. On Friday, the Eagles defeated UNC-W 83-71 but fell to defending Conference Champion Liberty 52-97.

"We had some pretty good performances in the relay meet," said Head Coach Nate Kellogg. "It was nice to mix up the format and have some different events, but we need to clean up some details going forward."

The Eagles won the 800 free relay as Kylee Parsons, Mae McWhorter, Kaylyn Thomas, and Madison Lichtefeld touched in 7:45.91. Liberty took 2nd in the event touching in 7:47.27.

In the The 3x500 free relay, the team of Parsons, McWhorter, and Hannah Rogers placed 2nd touching in 15:43.05. Liberty won the event in a time of 15:21.78.

The Eagles were again 2nd in the 200 fly relay when Megan Heller, Anna Battistello, Sarah Schwartz, and Megan Liebl combined for a time of 1:45.60. Liberty took 1st with a time of 1:44.05.

In the 200 back relay, Lauren Campbell, Christina Moran, Elaina Lanson, and Rebecca Alves teamed up for a 2nd place finish in 1:47.16.

Parsons, Moran, Heller, and Lanson took 2nd in the 200 free relay with a time of 1:37.50. Liberty won the event with a time of 1:35.16.

Diver Erin Hembree finished 2nd in the 1 meter event with a score of 236.25. She finished only 2 points shy of 1st place diver Hannah Croxton of UNC-W.

In the traditional meet Saturday, the Eagles dominated College of Charleston 210-77, and lost by just 3 points to UNC-W 147-150. Georgia Southern also fell to Liberty 101-186.

"We were not as sharp as we needed to be, especially early on in the meet," said Kellogg. "But I'm proud of our women for the way they rallied and fought. We never gave up."

Parsons claimed victory in the 200 free pacing the field with a 1:54.04 finish. Liberty's Cori Gary was 2nd in 1:55.16. Abbie Lavallin managed a 2nd place showing in the 100 breast clocking in at 1:07.65. Her time was just 2 seconds slower than eventual winner Jenson Engen from UNC-W.

The 200 fly saw Campbell finish with a time of 2:06.55 to finish 2nd behind Liberty's Hannah Wakeley who touched in 2:06.48. In the 100 and 500 free, Parsons took 2nd with a time of 52.81 and 5:07.46 respectively.

It was a 2nd place showing for Heller in the 100 fly as she finished in 58.16. Kendall Hart of Liberty won the event in 57.48. In the 200 IM, Campbell touched in 2:10.27 which was good enough for 2nd place.

In the 200 medley relay, Moran, Lavallin, Campbell, and Lanson took 3rd place finishing in 1:47.94. Lanson finished 3rd in the 50 free touching in 24.17. The Eagles also took 3rd in the 400 free relay as Parsons, Moran, Thomas, and Heller combined for a time of 3:33.91.

Hembree took 2nd in the 1 meter diving event with a score of 227.50. Rachel McCormick of UNC-W won the event with 232.10 points. In the 3 meter diving event, Hembree finished 4th with 199.85 points.

The Eagles will now begin preparations for the Coastal Collegiate Swimming Association Conference Championships which will be contested in Athens, Georgia February 18 – 21.

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