Rowe’s 4 Wins Make It 3 Straight In the Win Column For Marshall

Marshall rolled to its third-straight win with a home trouncing of Vanderbilt, led by a pair of pool records from Sirena Rowe.

The freshman went 4-for-4 in wins and broke two pool records before the diving break. Rowe, Catherine Bendziewicz, Chloe Parsemain and Gloriya Mavrova combined to go 1:43.77 in the 200 medley relay, breaking a Marshall pool record right out of the gate. A few events later, Rowe went 23.23 to break the pool’s 50 free record as well.

In between those two wins, Rowe went 56.22 to win the 100 back, with only two events between her 100 back and 50 free wins. She would go on to win the 100 free in 52.5 after intermission.

The win marks Marshall’s third triumph over a major conference team this season and its first-ever win over Vanderbilt. The Commodores were led by Kara Lucenti, who won three individual events: the 100 breast (1:05.16), 200 breast (2:19.45) and 200 IM (2:07.24).

Press Releases:

Marshall:

Jan. 28, 2017 Results

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Marshall swimming and diving remained perfect at home this season with a 144-118 win over the Southeastern Conference’s Vanderbilt on Saturday at the Fredrick A. Fitch Natatorium.

The Thundering Herd earned its third straight victory and first ever win over Vanderbilt by winning eight of the 14 events held in the meet. Marshall has defeated three Power 5 schools this season, including West Virginia at the WV State Games, Miami (Fla.) at the NC State GAC Invite and the Commodores.

The Herd set three pool records in the meet. The first record was set in the 200 medley relay by the team of Sirena Rowe, Catherine Bendziewicz, Chloe Parsemain and Gloriya Mavrova with a time of 1:43.77. The second was set in the 50 free, as Rowe finished at 23.23. The final record was set in the 200 free relay by the team of Lauren Cowher, Mavrova, Bendziewicz and Parsemain with a time of 1:35.16.

Marshall went on to win back-to-back events in the 200 free and 100 backstroke. Bendziewicz placed in first in the 200 free with a time of 1:51.83, while Rowe earned the win in the 100 backstroke with a time of 56.22.

After dropping the 200 fly, the Herd responded by winning three straight events. Rowe picked up back-to-back wins in the 50 free (23.23) and the 100 free (52.53). Caroline Wanner placed first at 2:05.59 in the 200 backstroke.

Marshall’s biggest boost came in the 100 fly, as Parsemain finished in first place with a time of 55.16, almost two seconds ahead of second place.

COACH’S CORNER
Quotes by head coach Bill Tramel

On the team’s performance and win over Vanderbilt…
We are incredible thrilled with the results today. Beating a team from the SEC is something special. I think the impressive thing is that we did this straight up, without scoring our divers. The important thing in the second semester is to be performing at a very high level leading into our championship meet, and that is what we are doing.

On the relays and individual performances…
I thought our front relay set the tone by breaking the pool record. We had some people move around in events and not miss a beat. Catherine Bendziewicz winning the 200 freestyle was a pivotal race. I thought Sirena Rowe and Chloe Parsemain going 1-2 in the 100 backstroke in the very next event was a big boost for us as well. Sirena just continues to be a machine. Her finishing at 23.2 in the 50 free and winning four events was phenomenal. Chloe had a monster 100 butterfly finishing at 55.1 just missing the pool record. That time is very fast, so we are very pleased with that.

On finishing and looking ahead…
We didn’t let up. We kept our foot on the gas and that’s what championship teams do. We certainly feel good about where we are leading into our championship season, coming up in the next 25 days.

UP NEXT
Marshall returns to the pool on Friday, Feb. 3 at 5 p.m. for the MU Invite. The Herd will close the invitational on Saturday at 10:30 a.m.

Vanderbilt:

Jan. 28, 2017

Final Results

HUNTINGTON, W.V. – The Vanderbilt swim team traveled to Marshall to take part in their last regular season meet before the SEC Championships. The Commodores had some great swims throughout the meet, including six individual wins, but ultimately fell to Marshall 146-116.

The highlight of the meet for the Commodores was junior breaststroker Kara Lucenti. She finished on the podium in all four of her races, including a sweep of the breaststroke events and a win in the 200-yard IM. Lucenti finished the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:05.16, the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:19.45, and the 200-yard IM with a time of 2:07.24. It was her first win in the 100-yard breaststroke, her fifth win in the 200-yard breaststroke, and second win in the 200-yard IM this season. Lucenti finished runner-up in the 200-yard medley relay with a time of 1:44.68.

Freshman Selah Peacock also had a great day in the pool, winning both events she competed in. Peacock won the 1000-yard freestyle with a time of 10:17.80 and the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 5:02.75. It is her third win in the 1000-yard freestyle and second in the 500-yard freestyle this season.

Senior Kayla Moran was the other Commodore to pick up a win Saturday morning. Moran finished first in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 2:06.13. It was her first win in the 200-yard butterfly this season. Moran swept the podium in her other events, finishing second in the 100-yard butterfly (57.12) and third in the 200-yard medley relay (1:47.29).

Fellow senior Rachel Koch finished on the podium in both of her races Saturday morning. Koch finished runner-up to Moran in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 2:06.18. She finished third in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 58.21.

Summer Brown earned three podium finishes in her four races. She finished runner-up in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:53.81. Brown also picked up a pair of third-place finishes in the 200-yard medley relay (1:47.29) and 200-yard freestyle relay (1:39.66).

The Commodores are now finished with the regular season portion of their schedule. They will have about two weeks to prepare for the SEC Championships in Knoxville, Tenn. The five-day championship will begin on Tuesday, February 14 and run through the rest of the week.

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