UNC Asheville Wins 11th Home Dual In A Row Over Liberty As Meet Comes Down To Final Relay

UNC Asheville vs Liberty

• October 27-28, 2023
• Asheville, N.C.
• SCY (25 yards)
• Results

Courtesy: UNC Asheville Athletics

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – UNC Asheville Women’s Swimming and Diving picked up a huge 192-179 win over Liberty over the weekend (Oct. 27-28), picking up their first Atlantic Sun Conference dual win. The win was the first for Asheville in the series against Liberty inside the Justice Center, while Asheville has now won 11 duals in a row at home dating back to Oct. 2020.

Day One

Liberty performed well in the 1M diving events, but Asheville was able to pick up points in both events. Jade Canady was Asheville’s best performer in the first round, placing fifth with a score of 228.98. Haley Fein (207.30) and Amelia Ward (206.78) finished seventh and eighth respectively, while Morgan Coughlen (202.88), Leigha Travis (192.83) and Kindal Culpepper (176.40) rounded out the event eighth through 10^th. Canady paced the Bulldogs again in the second event, placing sixth with a score of 236.25. Ward (217.73), Coughlen (215.85), Fein (209.85), Travis (194.48) and Culpepper (177.15) rounded out the event in eighth through 12^th.

Asheville headed to the swimming events trailing Liberty 32-6.

Asheville would take second, third and fifth in the first swimming event of the day in the 200-yard medley relay, paced by the team of Grace Adams, Olivia Ciancimino, Anna Marcotti and Ava Kilpatrick (1:47.82). The quartet of Danai Gkogkosi, Taylor Smith, Chloe McDonald and Abby Parks finished third in 1:48.73, along with the team of Rachel Daly, Jane Brierley, Addison Wright and Alexis Walker finishing fifth in 1:52.88. Alessia Cunegatti went on to win the 400-yard IM in 4:31.44, while Riley Edmundson took second in 4:33.71. Julie Lahiff also finished sixth in the event in 4:48.77. Anna Kate Halligan (4:35.63), Rose Sciaudone (4:43.55), Tess Peny (4:53.22) and Gaby Shenot (4:58.72) also competed in the event.
Asheville picked up a first-place, third-place and fourth-place finish in the 200-yard freestyle, with Marcotti winning the event in 1:54.99. Gkogkosi finished third in 1:55.94, while Caitlin Hefner also finished fourth in 1:57.66. Miriam Wheatley (1:56.64) and Daly (2:03.70) also competed in the event. Asheville was paced in the 200-yard backstroke by Cunegatti with a second-place finish in 2:05.63, while Adams finished third in 2:06.40. Kilpatrick took sixth in 2:09.23, while Ameila Presley (2:12.74) and Wright (2:13.75) also competed in the event.

Asheville notched second, third and fourth-place finishes in the 100-yard breaststroke with Smith (1:06.93), Parks (1:07.76) and Wheatley (1:08.20) taking the places respectively. Asheville notched first, third and fourth-place finishes in the second heat, with Gracelyn Cox (1:08.25) getting the win and Brierley (1:09.38) taking third and Ciancimino (1:10.41) in fourth. Asheville would take second, third and fourth in the 100-yard butterfly, paced by Edmundson in second in 57.54 seconds. McDonald took third in 58.00 seconds, while Caroline Crouse finished fourth in 58.76 seconds. Peny (1:01.31) and Walker (1:02.00) also competed in the event. Asheville would take the top three spots in the 100-yard IM, with Beatrice Cocconcelli winning the event in 59.40 seconds. Crouse finished second in 59.88 seconds, while Smith also finished third in 59.91 seconds. Cox (1:02.53), Halligan (1:03.22) and Walker (1:07.83) also competed in the event. Asheville would take first, second and fourth in the 500-yard freestyle, paced by Caitlin Hefner winning in 5:08.93 and Marcotti finishing second in 5:09.98. Sciaudone finished fourth in 5:22.10, while Shenot (5:24.93), Lahiff (5:24.94) and Wheatley (5:26.02) also competed in the event. Asheville would take first, third and fourth in the final event of the day in the 400-yard freestyle relay, with Crouse, Parks, Gkogkosi and Kilpatrick taking the win in 3:29.50. The quartet of Cocconcelli, Adams, Cunegatti and Ciancimino took third in 3:34.00, while Presley, Halligan, Daly and Smith finished fourth in 3:40.86. Asheville led 107-98 after day one.

Day Two

The second day began with Asheville taking second, third and fifth in the 400-yard medley relay, paced by Adams, Cocconcelli, Edmundson and Kilpatrick in second in 3:56.56. Cunegatti, Smith, McDonald and Marcotti finished third in 3:59.96, while Wright, Cox, Brierley and Ciancimino took fifth in 4:07.30. Asheville would notch second, third and fourth-place finishes in the 1650-yard freestyle, paced by Hefner in 17:56.23. Sciaudone took third in 18:47.86, while Shenot also finished fourth in 18:57.85. Asheville would take second, third and sixth in the 200-yard butterfly, paced by Crouse in second (2:05.80) and Edmundson in third (2:07.36). McDonald also finished sixth in the event in 2:16.59, while Cunegatti (2:13.10), Lahiff (2:14.97) and Peny (2:15.44) also competed in the event. Asheville would take first, second and sixth in the 50-yard freestyle, with Parks (24.19 seconds) getting the win and Ciancimino (24.56 seconds) finishing second. Gkogkosi finished sixth in 25.23 seconds, while Daly (25.79 seconds) and Walker (26.66 seconds) also competed in the event. Asheville would take third, fourth and sixth in the 100-yard backstroke, paced by Adams in third (58.51 seconds) and Gkogkosi in fourth (58.94 seconds). Kilpatrick (1:00.69) would take sixth in the event, while Presley (1:02.03), Daly (1:03.16) and Lahiff (1:04.74) also competed in the event. The Bulldogs took second, fourth and fifth in the 200-yard breaststroke, paced by Wheatley in second (2:24.49). Cocconcelli finished in fourth (2:27.11) and Cox took fifth (2:28.85), while Halligan (2:27.46), Brierley (2:33.89) and Peny (2:39.46) also competed in the event.

Asheville finished second through fourth in the 100-yard freestyle, with Parks (52.32 seconds), Crouse (52.92 seconds) and Marcotti (54.14) finishing respectively. Hefner (55.27 seconds) and Wright (57.45 seconds) also competed in the event. Asheville placed first, second and fourth in the 200-yard IM, with Cunegatti winning the 200 IM in 2:08.09 and Edmundson finishing second in 2:08.19. Cocconcelli finished fourth in 2:09.69, while Halligan (2:11.76), Cox (2:16.24), Sciaudone (2:16.51) and McDonald (2:19.16) also competed in the event. Asheville would go on to complete the comeback in the 200-yard freestyle relay, picking up the win and also placing third and fifth. Kilpatrick, Ciancimino, Crouse and Parks got the win in 1:36.46, while Gkogkosi, Marcotti, Adams and Smith took third in 1:38.17. Presley, Wheatley, Shenot and Wright also finished fifth in 1:43.02.

“We are thrilled to walk away with our first conference win of the season,” said head coach Elizabeth Lykins. “Coming down to the last relay obviously added excitement to the meet and gave our squad a chance to step-up and race for the win.”

The Bulldogs (2-1, 1-0 ASUN) return to the water on Nov. 11 at VMI to take on VMI, Howard and UMBC. The action begins at 12:00 p.m. from Lexington, Va.

Courtesy: Liberty Athletics

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – UNC Asheville won the final two events of Saturday’s session, securing a 192-179 win over the visiting Liberty Lady Flames at Justice Center Pool.

With the win, the Bulldogs improved to 2-1 on the season, including 1-0 in ASUN dual meets. Meanwhile, Liberty’s record levels at 1-1, 0-1 in ASUN competition.

Liberty Event Winners

• 400 Medley Relay – Malia Francis (58.78), Heather Gardner (1:05.11), Abbie Shaw (57.00), Kamryn Cannings (51.42)
• So. Isabelle Gomez – 1650 freestyle (17:45.60)
• Fr. Kamryn Cannings – 200 butterfly (2:04.34); 100 freestyle (51.61)
• Sr. Abbie Shaw – 100 backstroke (55.19)
• Sr. Heather Gardner – 200 breaststroke (2:24.40)

Notable

• UNC Asheville carried a 108-97 lead into today after last night’s competition. Liberty won six of the first seven events contested today, surging ahead 171-164. However, the Bulldogs went 1-2 in the 200 IM and then won the 200 freestyle relay, pulling off the comeback win.
• For the meet, Liberty won 10 individual events and both medley relays, while UNC Asheville claimed six individual events and both freestyle relays.
• For the second meet in a row, Liberty freshman Kamryn Cannings posted three individual-event victories (100 butterfly, 200 butterfly, 100 freestyle). Additionally, Abbie Shaw swept both 100 and 200 backstroke while Heather Gardner claimed the 100 and 200 breaststroke.

• Today, Liberty went 1-2 in the 100 backstroke with Abbie Shaw and Malia Francis taking first and second, respectively. UNC Asheville posted 1-2 finishes in both the 50 freestyle and 200 IM.
• The closest race of the evening was the 200 breaststroke, with Liberty’s Heather Gardner chasing down Miriam Wheatley to defeat her, 2:24.40 to 2:24.49. The next race saw Kamryn Cannings come from behind to beat Abby Parks in the 100 free.

Historically Speaking

• Liberty is 6-2 all-time in dual-meet action against UNC Asheville. The Bulldogs defeated the Lady Flames 190-163 on Jan. 22, 2022 in Lynchburg in the most recent meeting. Liberty is 3-1 all-time against UNC Asheville in meets held at Justice Center Pool, defeating the Bulldogs 162-127 on Oct. 23, 2021 in the Lady Flames’ last visit to Asheville.
• The Lady Flames are now 42-5 all-time in dual meets contested in North Carolina. Liberty had won 41 straight dual meets inside the Tar Heel State prior to this weekend.
• Gomez holds the top 1650 freestyle time in the Atlantic Sun Conference with today’s 17:45.60. Meanwhile, Abbie Shaw’s 55.19 in the 100 backstroke was the top time in that event in the ASUN this season.

Up Next
Liberty will host the fifth annual TYR ’85 Invite, Nov. 17-19 at Liberty Natatorium.