Northeastern Breaks 8 School Records En Route to Winning Frank Elm Invitational at Rutgers

Rutgers University Swimming and Diving hosted 11 women’s teams from Division I, II and III, and from various regions of the Northeast, at the 2014 Frank Elm Invitational this past weekend at the Werblin Recreation Center. Northeastern came out on top, winning its first team-meet title in seven years. Full meet results are available here.

New Hampshire senior Katie Mann won three events with three meet record-setting performances. In each case Mann was significantly under the previous meet record. She began with a 2:11.27 in prelims of the 200 breast, destroying the old mark set by Katie Meili by more than 4 seconds. She then went 2:00.13 in prelims to break the 200 IM record, and lowered it again in finals with 2:00.00. Her final meet record came in the 400 IM, when she first went a second under a Katie Meili mark in prelims with 4:15.42, then took another 8/10 with a finals swim of 4:13.69.

Wagner sophomore Anu Nihipali doubled with wins in the 100 and 200 back. In both races she just out-touched Northeastern senior Anna Schegoleva. Nihipali and Schegoleva were both under the meet record in the 100 back, with 54.38 and 54.81, respectively. In the 200, Nihipali edged Schegoleva 1:58.36 to 1:58.53.

Another meet record went down when LIU Post junior Joyce Kwok went a 54.18 to win the 100 fly. Finishing just behind her with 54.55 was University of Idaho’s Jamie Sterbis. Sterbis turned the tables on Kwok in the 200, though, out-touching her 1:59.38 to 1:59.72.

The freshmen were on fire at the Frank Elm Invite, and none more so than those from Northeastern University. Sara Touchette-McGowan, in her first season for the Huskies, set two individual school records (50 free and 100 free) and was on four of Northeastern’s record-setting relays (200 free, 400 free, 200 medley, and 400 medley). Touchette-McGowan won the 50 free (23.47) and the B-final of the 100 free (51.25). Her classmate Samira Hoesl finished first in the 100 breast with 1:03.02. Hoesl was only .04 ahead of Northeastern sophomore Taylor Ellis at the finish. Ellis set the school record with 1:02.53 in prelims. That is one of two records that Ellis set at the meet – her 4:55.35 in the 500 free broke Jordan Domeier’s 4:55.43 done at last year’s CAA Championships.

Senior Rachel Millet from the University of Idaho was the 100 free winner, clocking in at 51.06. Northeastern senior Megan Foran won the 200 free (1:52.42). Grace Baird, a sophomore from Wagner College, won the B-final (1:52.91). She then went on to win the 1650 with a best time of 16:37.89, and was runner-up in the 500 going 4:54.40, only .08 behind the winner, Navy freshman Jenny Smith. Smith’s 4:54.32 was a season best for her, more than six seconds under her seed time.

Final Results / Highlights

1. Northeastern University – 1,533
   Touchette-McGowan, Hoesl, Rachel Green and Schegoleva broke the school record in the 200 free relay with 1:33.64. Schegoleva, Ellis, Touchette-McGowan, and Green won the 400 medley relay with a school record of 3:44.70. Christine Leong, Ellis, Schegoleva, and Touchette-McGowan won the 200 medley in 1:42.61, setting both the school and the meet record. Finally, in the 400 free relay, Hoesl, Jessica Colucci, Touchette-McGowan, and Schegoleva combined for a school-record time of 3:26.08.
2. U.S. Naval Academy – 1,284
   Sophomore Charlotte Meyer finished second in the 400 IM with a new school record of 4:19.65. She was also third in the 200 IM (2:02.17) and fifth in the 200 back (2:03.78). Junior Maddie Thompson had a second in the 100 free (51.31), third in the 50 (23.55), and fourth in the 200 free (1:52.97). Rachael Dudley took home a fourth in the 1650 and a fifth in the 100 fly (56.03). Freshman Smith was sixth in both the 400 IM and 1650 free. Other top-eight finishes included Katie O’Reilly (200 back, 200 IM), Ellen Bradford (100 breast, 200 breast), Brianna Bilunas (100 free), Molly Kuenstler (100 free), Kenzie Margroum (50 free), Annabel Tomes (200 free). Navy won the 800 free relay in a time of 7:28.90.
3. Rutgers University Swimming – 1,085
   Freshman Addison Walkowiak won all three diving events, re-setting the school record in 1-meter diving. Sophomore diver Alyssa Black was second in 3-meter and on the platform, and was third in 1-meter diving. Freshman Emily Erwin took second in the 1650 with 16:52.70. Junior Joanna Wu finished second in the 200 free (1:52.52), third in the 200 back (2:02.82), seventh in the 100 back (57.65), and seventh in the 500 free (5:00.74). Senior Greta Leberfinger gave the Scarlet Knights fourth-place finishes in the 100 (1:03.73) and 200 (2:17.16) breast. Junior Morgan Pfaff earned a fourth in the 200 IM (2:03.08), a fifth in the 200 fly (2:05.08), and a seventh in the 400 IM (4:25.23).
4. University of Idaho – 991
   Freshman Christine Renzini broke a 30-year-old school record with her third-place finish in the 1650 free, clocking in at 16:52.70. She also took down the school’s record in the 1000 with her leadoff split of 10:15.57. Renzini was fifth in the 500 free with 4:58.67, just off the school record. Millet broke a school record in the 400 IM with 4:21.25; she finished third. The Vandals placed three in the A-final of the 100 free: event winner Millet, senior Erica Anderson, who placed fourth in 51.91, and Kirah Monks, who was seventh with a time of 52.39. Anderson was second in the 50 free, going 23.48; Millet (23.78) was seventh. The Vandals’ 800 free relay finished second in 7:29.92.
5. Wagner College – 963
   Junior Amanda Lucia went 1:59.80 in the 200 fly to take third, and 55.82 in the 100 fly for a fourth-place finish. She was also fourth in the 500 free, touching in 4:56.91. Other good swims came from Maddie McNichol, Maggie Shaw, Leahi Camacho, and Kara Lacoste.
6. Long Island University Post – 797
   LIU Post’s 200 free relay broke the meet and the school record with their 1:33.42 finish. Their 400 free relay finished third, and both medley relays placed second. Johanna Pettersson and Kwok had top-eight finishes in the 200 IM, as did Meghan Brazier and Laura Bendfeldt in the 50 free. Bendfeldt was third in the 100 free (51.62). Pettersson, Seren Jones, and Brazier placed third, fourth and fifth in the 100 back with 55.59, 56.36 and 56.86, respectively. Carolin Rademacher got fifth in the 200 breast (2:18.64) and again in the 400 IM (4:22.63).
7. James Madison University – 657
   The 200 free relay team of Camilla Czulada, Quinn MacMillan, Carli Molano and Susanne Gingher clocked a 1:35.45 to finish fifth. Czulada was fifth in the 100 free with her 51.98; she also placed seventh in the 200 free in 1:53.67. Senior Sin Hye Won went 1:04.41 to finish seventh in the 100 breast. Gingher came in eighth in the 50 free, going 23.86.
8. Columbia University – 651.50
   Columbia competed on the last two days of the meet. Some of their top performances include a third-place finish in the 200 medley relay behind Salena Huang, Jennifer Shahar, Christina Ray, and Kathleen O’Rourke (1:44.11). Kristine Ng went 2:03.65 in the 200 fly for fourth. Shahar was sixth in the 100 breast with 1:04.26. Freshman Nicole Papsco finished seventh in the 400 IM with 4:27.97, while Huang took seventh in the 200 back (2:04.61). Trudi Patrick also picked up a seventh-place finish with her 2:05.98 in the 200 fly.
9. Central Connecticut State University – 582
   Freshman Maddy Garber finished third in the 100 breast with 1:03.13. She turned in the top time of the meet, though, with her 1:02.43 prelims swim. Garber broke the school record in the 200 breast with her second-place finish of 2:15.70. Senior Helene Neuhaus finished fourth in the 200 back in 2:02.93. Neuhaus, sophomores Sabree Thomas and Christine Rasile, and Garber set a new school record in the 400 medley relay, touching in 3:48.45 for fifth place.
10. University of New Hampshire – 389.50
    Senior diver Nicole Zahka finished fifth in both platform and 3-meter diving. Freshman Liza Baykova scored points with her fifth-place finish in the 200 free, with 1:53.22. She also finaled in the 50 and 100 frees and the 100 breast.
11. Sacred Heart University – 70
    Sacred Heart was only at the meet on Saturday and Sunday, but that was enough for Jillian Crosby to set a school record in the prelims of the 200 freestyle, touching in 1:55.38. She also lowered her own 100 free school record, first going 53.55 in prelims and then 53.48 in finals. Meredith Nyser, Anna Brown, and Gabrielle Fernandes each swam to best times during the weekend.
12. The College of New Jersey – 60
    Senior Summer Thomas and junior Noelle DeLusant had strong swims in the 200 fly. In particular, Thomas dropped more than six seconds between prelims and finals. Divers Hannah Raymond and Edie Duggan scored well on the boards over the three-day meet.