Rockets Blast By Illinois, Oakland in Tri-Meet

Rocket swimmers claimed victories in 10 of 16 events as the University of Toledo swimming and diving team dominated Illinois and Oakland in a tri-meet Saturday at Oakland.

The Rockets outscored Illinois 182-114 and Oakland 177-119 in the team's season-opening meet. It's the program's fourth-straight victory over Oakland and third-consecutive win over Illinois.

"Our girls did a great job today," said head coach Lars Jorgensen, whose dual meet record is now 36-17-1 in six years at Toledo. "It was a complete team effort with so many people contributing. I was especially proud of our captains and seniors. We worked very hard and I was proud of our effort."

Senior Ashley Cusack (Willow Spring, IL) had a tremendous performance in claiming victories in the 100 backstroke (57.24) and 200 backstroke (2:03.66). She was joined by junior Kelsey Atchison (Silver Lake, OH), junior co-captain Amanda Thompson (Monroe, MI) and senior co-captain Katie White (Leland, MI) on the first-place 200 medley relay team (1:44.46).

White won the 50 freestyle in 23.70 and took second in the 100 freestyle behind freshman Carly Harter (North Huntington, PA), who made an impressive collegiate debut. In addition to her title in the 100 free (52.08), she led a Rocket 1-2-3 finish in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:51.93. Harter also placed second in the 100 IM in a time of 2:07.12.

Junior co-captain Jacy Dyer (Lebanon, PA), a First Team All-MAC honoree last year, paced a 1-2-3-4 UT performance in the 1000 freestyle, taking first in a time of 10:06.68. She also finished second in the 200 free behind Harter.

Sophomore Laura Lindsay (Uniontown, OH) racked up a pair of event titles as she took first in the 100 breaststroke in a time of 1:04.12 and hit the wall nearly three seconds ahead of the next closest competitor in the 200 breaststroke in a time of 2:20.43.

Junior Laura Heckroth (Columbus, IN) led yet another 1-2-3 finish by the Rockets in the 500 freestyle in 5:01.88, with senior Caitlin Cormack (Bedford, OH) and sophomore Claire Leichty (Purcell, OH) right behind her.

Thompson finished second in the 200 fly, while Atchison was second in the 100 breaststroke behind Lindsay. Freshman Kenzie Bagan (Roanoke, IN) took second in the 200 fly as well.

The Rockets have another matchup with a Big Ten foe waiting Friday night, as Toledo travels to Ann Arbor, MI for a tri-meet with Michigan and the University of Toronto.
Contact: Scott Miles
scott.miles@utoledo.edu