Winning all but one of the 11 events, the Lock Haven University swimming team topped Juniata College 112-85 today (Dec. 9) at Zimmerli Pool.
"This was a great meet for us to finish the semester on," said LHU head coach Andrew Waeger. "To bounce back from a grueling three-day meet last week at Ashland, the women, as always, responded well and had great swims."
Senior Diane Sujanksy (Plum, Pa./Plum) paced the Lady Eagles with two wins, taking the 50 freestyle (24.63) and the 100 free (55.05) in convincing fashion.
Both of those races were big team-point events, as LHU would go 1-2 in each. Sujanksky teamed up with classmate Gerda Smirnova (Riga, Latvia/Ilguciema Usk.) in the 50 free and joined junior Kelly Grieneisen (Pittsburgh/Plum) in the 100 free.
Grieneisen took the win in the 200 free with a PSAC-qualifying 2:01.11. Rookie Amanda Palmer (Exton, Pa./Downingtown East) had a come-from-behind effort to win the 200 individual medley (2:23.28).
Freshman Ashley Lightcap (Pottstown, Pa./Pottstown) topped the field with a 1:03.75 in the 100 butterfly, while classmate Mary Ewanich (Cornwall, N.Y./Cornwall) won her specialty stroke, the 100 backstroke (1:04.85).
Senior Becca Rhoades (Lancaster, Pa./Penn Manor) bested the 500 free field with her 5:35.32, taking the final scored race of the day for LHU.
Smirnova's 1:09.11 in the 100 breaststroke would have been a victory, and a 1-2 punch combined with Palmer. Both LHU A relay squads also posted the top times.
While wins are important, it's the times that matter most to Waeger, and sophomore Shannon Samanka (DuBois, Pa./DuBois) keeps cutting hers.
"She dropped 10 seconds from the last time she swam the 200 IM," he said. "Add to that a five-second cut in the 500 free time, and she's having a great season."
The Lady Eagles swam the final two races as exhibitions, forfitting all team points and making the score closer than the swims actually told.
After the meet was over, the Lady Eagles swam some time trials, with Smirnova snapping the 100 free record at Zimmerli Pool, touching the wall in 54.14. She topped the previous mark, held by Tatiana Patakyova (2002-06) in 54.92.
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LHU v. JC, pg 2
The Lady Eagles also gave back to the community with a free youth swim clinic, giving local youngsters the chance to swim in a collegiate pool with some instruction and a lot of fun. Waeger said they will look to do this again in the near future.
The Lady Eagles are back in action Wednesday, Jan. 10 in a triad meet at the University of North Florida with the University of Northern Colorado.
