The Loras College Swimming and Diving teams hosted Illinois Institute of Technology on Friday night in San Jose Pool. Fueled by eight event wins, the women won their dual 128-78, while the men suffered a 130-77 setback.
Led by their seniors on "Senior Night" the women had plenty to celebrate early on as they recorded wins in three of the first four events in the dual.
Senior Elise Amo won the 1000 Free with a time of 11:32.59. In last week's dual against Beloit, Amo swam her personal best in the 1000 Free with a time of 11:30.60.
Junior Heather Black took home first in the 100 Free, edging out LaLonde by less than two seconds with a time of 58.91.
Senior Mary Katheryn Maher won her first of two events on the night, besting the rest of the field in the 200 Free with a time of 2:06.56. Later, Maher won the 100 Back just edging Haley Slator of IIT by .34.
Junior Jessica LaLonde bested the rest of her competition in the 50 Free, finishing with a time of 27.35. Senior Renee Beach was right on her tail with a time of 28.38.
Senior Lexie Mollahan made the most of her senior night, posting her season best in the 500 Free by nearly three seconds with a time of 5:31.55. Fellow senior Amo was right behind her, finishing in 5:31.89.
With senior Clare Ehlbeck winning the 100 Breast, Loras put a cap on their night by winning the 400 Free Relay with a time of 4:00.75. Relay members included Mollahan, Black, LaLonde, and Beach.
On the men's side of the dual, the Duhawks featured four victories and three season-best times.
Sophomore Michael Krol posted his season-best time (10:50.40) in the 1000 Free to earn nine points for his team.
Joining him in the winner's circle was sophomore Ike Casey who once again pleaded his case as one of the top swimmer's in the conference by winning the 50 Free and 100 Back. Casey posted a time of 21.77 in the 50 Free, his fourth best of the year. In the 100 Back, shaved nearly four seconds off his previous season best, turning in a time of 54.93.
Junior Zach Benson just narrowly missed the crown in the 100 Breast, but did manage to set a season best for himself. Benson finished with a time of 1:02.55, just .1 off the winner, Billy Bafia, of IIT.
The women improved their season record to 5-3 while the men dropped to 4-4. The teams will take the next two weeks off from competition in preparation for the IIAC/Liberal Arts Championships which will take place February 12-14 in Cedar Rapids.
