The Davidson men’s swimming & diving team leads Howard, while the Wildcat women are in front of Howard and Georgia Southern but trail Liberty through the first half of competition at the CCSA Duals at Cannon Pool Friday evening.
The men have a 102-25 advantage over the Bison entering tomorrow’s session, while the women are in front of Howard by a score of 157-19. The Davidson women also lead the GSU Eagles 96-90 but trail the Flames 111-72.
“The proximity of this meet to our championship affords us a great chance to identify race components that need fine tuning. I thought we swam well tonight, but didn't use our walls as well as the competition did. We'll look to be better there, tomorrow,” said head coach John Young. “On the women's side, we finish this first session in a virtual tie with Georgia Southern. This is a great position for us to be in and learn from. I'm eager to see if the women arrive satisfied or hungry tomorrow - the result of that meet likely hinges on mindset.”
The men’s 400-yard medley relay team of Luke Burton, Grant Smith, Cameron Bard and Colin MacKay kicked things off with a win in 1:36.03. The women’s squad of Angie Healy, Katy Williams, Meredith Nakano and Erica Clancy took third in 1:48.64.
Elise Lankiewicz won the first individual event of the evening, taking the 1,000-yard freestyle in 10:18.37. Anna Blair Bullock took sixth for the ‘Cats, clocking in at 10:39.50. Dylan Ludwick won the men’s event in 9:54.59, with Spencer Davies taking second in a time of 10:33.87.
Angie Healy and Liz Mace took second and third, respectively, in the 200-yard freestyle. Healy touched the pads in 1:54.37, followed by Mace in 1:55.57. Ben Stewart-Bates was the men’s leader in 1:45.92, followed by Max Schimanski in second in 1:46.37.
Clancy picked up a third-place finish for the Wildcats in the 50-yard freestyle in a time of 24.59, with Kassie Shannon claiming fifth in 24.92. Bard and Burton were neck-and-neck for the men, with Bard’s 21.67 edging out Burton’s 21.69.
Swimming a 1:59.28 for the win in the 200-yard IM was Brandon Kegley, who was followed by Davies in 2:00.57. Emily Covert was the Wildcats’ top finisher in the women’s event, taking sixth in 2:14.81. Megan McLeod was eighth in 2:17.20.
Ethan Levinson claimed the 100-yard backstroke in 54.13. Josh Schammel was on his tail in 54.21, while Adam Hunter also broke the 55-second mark in 54.93. Lauren Malachowski was fifth in the women’s event, touching the pads in 1:00.25.
Williams took third in the 100-yard breaststroke, finishing in 1:06.17. Nakano was close behind in fourth at 1:06.56. Drew Gill earned the win in the men’s event with a time of 59.70, followed by Thomas Bigham in 1:01.97.
Lankiewicz was the runner-up in the 200-yard fly, swimming a 2:05.97 in the event. Will Fox claimed the men’s race in a time of 1:56.64.
Kaliya Burton-Akright and Karen Monuszko took first and second, respectively, in the 3-meter dive. Burton-Akright finished with 269.33 total points, while Monuszko tallied 265.20 points in the event.
The Davidson “A” relay of Mace, Healy, Shannon and Lankiewicz took second in the 400-yard free relay in a time of 3:32.02. Burton, Ludwick, Davies and Davied Sanchez claimed the men’s event in 3:14.24.
Action will resume tomorrow at 11 a.m. at Cannon Pool, starting with the 400-yard medley relays.
Liberty posted seven event victories on Friday, and the Lady Flames lead all three opponents after day one at the Davidson Duals, held at Davidson’s Charles A. Cannon Pool.
The Lady Flames, competing against CCSA opponents, lead host Davidson, 111-72, while holding a 116-67 advantage over Georgia Southern. Liberty owns a 136-20 advantage in dual scoring against Howard.
Liberty opened the meet with a first-place showing in the 200 medley relay. The victorious quartet of Kendall Hough, Emilie Kaufman, Jess Reinhardt and Meghan Babcock completed the relay in 1:43.67.
Bethany Kennon claimed Liberty’s first individual event win of the evening, winning the 200 free with a 1:54.17 clocking while defeating Davidson’s Angie Healy by 0.2 seconds. Kristin VanDeventer placed fourth in 1:56.85.
In the 50 free, Babcock went 24.01 to earn first place, while Cori Gary swam 24.69, good for fourth place.
Kaufman won the 200 individual medley, completing the race in 2:06.19. Morgan Noonan followed in second place with a 2:11.15 swim.
Emily Duff edged out Christina Moran of Georgia Southern, 58.68 to 58.94, to earn the 100 backstroke victory. Victoria Tschoke (59.11) placed third, while Hough (59.91) finished in fourth.
Reinhardt paced the field in the 200 fly, clocking 2:02.84 to win by over three seconds. Hannah Wakeley swam 2:09.50, good for fourth place.
Liberty’s A team of Heather McCorkel, Chloe Thomas, Hough and Babcock swam 3:31.15 in claiming the 400 free relay to close out Friday’s action.
During Friday’s second event, McCorkel’s 1000 free time of 10:27.95 gave her a second-place finish.
Kaufman followed her 200 IM victory by placing second in the 100 breast, with a 1:03.49 showing.
On Saturday, the second and final day of the Davidson Duals, the morning begins with the 400 medley relay at 11 a.m.
