Seattle University claimed a pair of wins over Simon Fraser and Northern Colorado this weekend. They opened their season by beating Simon Fraser 112-93, and narrowly overcoming Northern Colorado 105-100. Northern Colorado earned a win as well, defeating Simon Fraser, 112.5 to 92.5.
Seattle:
The Seattle University women’s swim team picked up key victories during Thursday night’s season-opening meet, including a win in the 200 freestyle relay, to clinch dual meet victories over Northern Colorado, 105-100, and Simon Fraser, 112-93, at the Connolly Center Pool.
The meet started with the quartet of Katie Rottman (Phoenix, Ariz.), Blaise Wittenauer-Lee(Portland, Ore.), Jane Liggett (Portland, Ore.), and Paige Treff (Orland, Calif.) winning the 400 medley relay in 3:56.84, just 28/100ths of a second ahead of Northern Colorado. The Redhawks needed to defeat the Bears in the 200 freestyle relay as well, with Treff, Kristin Hoffman (Mercer Island, Wash.), Kelly Hartman (East Wenatchee, Wash.), and Maddie Dickman (Sacramento, Calif.) accomplishing the feat with a time of 1:39.11.
Treff blazed to a first-place finish in the 50 freestyle with a time of 24.18 seconds, followed by a convincing victory by Wittenauer-Lee in the 200 individual medley in 2:08.49, over four seconds ahead of her nearest competitor. However, some near-misses by the Redhawks allowed their opponents to come back, starting with Liggett finishing second in the 100 butterfly to Simon Fraser’s Alicia Kim by just 8/100ths of a second (58.23 to 58.31).
Hoffman was out-touched in the 100 freestyle by Northern Colorado’s Sydney Kovar by 4/100ths of a second (54.21 to 54.25), and then the Bears and the Clan both defeated the Redhawks in both the 100 backstroke and 500 freestyle. Northern Colorado took a short lead after Leilani Herrera posted a time of 1:04.98 in the 100 breaststroke, 1/100th of a second ahead of Wittenauer-Lee, but the Redhawks responded in the final event to earn its first dual-meet victory over a Western Athletic Conference rival since joining the conference in 2012.
“That last relay showed that we have the ability to step up and get the job done. It was a really close race across the board, and it showed us that we have to stay focused on the details. Getting out there and racing for the first time this season, some people are not as crisp as they need to be, but we will keep working on that,” Seattle U head coach Craig Nisgor said.
Madi Lydig (Spokane, Wash.) finished second in the 1000 freestyle with a time of 10:42.30, and Hoffman finished third in the 200 freestyle in 1:56.77. Northern Colorado picked up four overall event victories as it defeated Simon Fraser as part of the double-dual meet, 112.5 to 92.5.
After having some fun Saturday, Oct. 17, in the alumni meet starting at 11 a.m., the Redhawks return to competition next weekend with back-to-back meets against Grand Canyon and Loyola Marymount in Phoenix, Ariz. The meets take place Friday, Oct. 23, starting at 1:30 p.m. and Saturday, Oct. 24, at 11 a.m.
Swimming news courtesy of Seattle Swimming & Diving.
Northern Colorado:
SEATTLE – The Bears Swimming team continued their 2015-16 season Thursday [Oct. 15], traveling to Seattle, Washington for a tri-meet against Seattle and Simon Fraser. The team defeated Simon Fraser, 112.5 to 92.5, but fell to Seattle, 105 to 100.
“This was a very exciting match to watch, and we had some great races,” head coach Kelly McClanahan commented. “It’s extremely tough racing on the same day that we travel, but I thought the girls fought through it very well.”
The 400 yard medley relay team of sophomore Valeria Mihhailova, freshman Leilani Herrera, juniorLaura Ramirez, and freshman Karlie O’Connell finished with the second fastest time of the event at 3:57.12.
Junior Carleigh Barrett had a phenomenal 1000 yard freestyle race, finishing in 10:38.48, well before any of the other competitors. Barrett finished second in the 500 yard freestyle, too, finishing that in 5:10.85.
Mihhailova had a successful individual race in the 50 yard freestyle, finishing in just 24.84. The sophomore also finished first in the 100 yard backstroke in just 59.01 – the only competitor to finish under one minute.
“Valeria had an excellent 100 back on the MR and individually, and Carleigh really stepped up in the 1000 for us and battled it out with the Simon Fraser swimmer in the 500.
In the 200 yard freestyle race, sophomore Sydney Kovar finished second overall, touching the wall in 1:56.19. Kovar also finished first in the 100 yard freestyle race with a time of 54.21, winning by a fraction of a second, as the second place competitor finished in 54.25.
Herrera made a name for herself individually as well, finishing .01 second faster than a Seattle swimmer to take first place in the 100 yard breaststroke (1:04.98). She tied for third in the 100 yard backstroke, touching the wall at 1:00.65 – the exact same time as one of the Simon Fraser competitors.
“Leilani had a breakout meet with an excellent swim on the MR and 100 back. Her 100 breaststroke win was against one of the best breaststrokers in the conference, so that match will definitely be a fun one to watch at WAC Championships in February.”
In the 200 yard freestyle relay, Kovar, O’Connell, freshman Brianna Salanitro, and junior Kim Kuni finished with a time of 1:40.85, a time that would land them second place in the race.
“All in all, the team swam very well individually, but the relays still need to come together better than what we showed tonight. I thought the freshmen really showed what they’re made of and that they’re here and ready to race. Now all we can do is turn our focus to Idaho.”
The swimmers continue their season (and the divers will begin their season) in the first 2015-16 combined WAC dual meet against Idaho in Moscow, Idaho on Sunday (Oct. 18). The home opener for the Bears follows two days later, when they host Nebraska-Omaha on the 19th at 5 p.m. MT.
For more information on the Bears this season, check out UNCBears.com visit the official Facebook page, or follow them on Twitter at @UNCOSwim_Dive.
Swimming news courtesy of Northern Colorado Swimming & Diving.
