The Loras College Swimming and Diving team competed at the University of Chicago Invitational this weekend. Both the men and women finished in fifth place, with the men scoring 275 points and the women scoring 251 team points.
Senior Lexie Mollahan and senior Clare Ehlbeck paced the women's team on the weekend with third and fourth place finishes in the 100 Breast. Mollahan finished with a time of 1:12.48 and Ehlbeck with a time of 1:12.74.
The duo also finished back-to-back in the 200 Breast, with Mollahan completing her race in 2:36.68 and Ehlbeck in 2:37.73.
In the 800 Free Relay, the women took fifth with a time of 8:30.27. Making up the relay team was senior Mary Kathryn Maher, Mollahan, junior Heather Black, and freshman Kim Breaux. Loras edged out the hosts by a slim 2.9 seconds.
Junior Zach Benson and sophomore Ike Casey were the top performers for the men and helped push their team to a fifth place finish.
Benson finished fifth in the 100 Breast with a time of 1:04.43, just three tenths of a second off of the fourth place finisher. Benson made up significant ground in the second leg, but it wasn't enough to make up for the advantage that was built in the first 50 meters. He would go on to win the 200 Breast, finishing in 2:16.90, more than three seconds ahead of his competition.
Casey suffered his first setback of the year in the 100 Free, swimming his race in 47.39. Thomas Meek of the University of Chicago finished in first place with a time of 47.15. The second place finish marked the first time this season that Casey did not win the 100 Free. He added a fifth place finish in the 100 Back, finishing in 58.42.
Senior Matt Bogen earned 14 team points with his fifth place finish in the 1650 Free. Seeded with a time of 17:45.67, Bogen swam his race nearly nine seconds faster, finishing in 17:36.88.
The Duhawks will be back in action next Friday when they host Beloit College for a dual meet at San Jose Pool. The meet is set to start at 6 p.m.
