Swimcloud

Frank Elm Invite - Day 3

Rutgers

The Rutgers swimming and diving team concluded its impressive weekend of competition, as the Scarlet Knights registered three more NCAA ‘B’ qualifying standard times and a meet record in the 200 back by freshman Vera Koprivova (Prerov, JC, Czech Republic) during the final session of the Frank Elm Invitational Sunday night at the RU Aquatics Center.
 
In total, RU produced seven NCAA ‘B’ qualifying standard times, six meet records and a school record in the 1-meter dive during the three-day event.
 
“I’m extremely excited about where we are right now at this point in the season,” said head coach Petra Martin “For us, things came together both in the pool and off the boards. You could really see the results of all of the different training techniques we have implemented with the team. It’s great to see things coming together and people buying in.”
 
Navy captured the team title with a score of 2,096.5 while RU finished second with a mark of 1,503. Northeastern produced 1,012.5 points for third place in the 10-team field.
 
Rutgers enjoyed success in the 200 back event, as Koprivova finished first with a NCAA ‘B’ qualifying standard time of 1:55.97. The time was nearly eight seconds faster than her personal best and set the meet record in the race. Senior Joanna Wu (Kent, Wash.) also produced a ‘B’ qualifying standard time in the event, touching the wall second with a mark of 1:58.93. It was Wu’s second B cut of the weekend.
 
Senior Rachel Stoddard (Hillsborough, N.J.) collected her second ‘B’ cut in as many days in the 200 breast with a time of 2:12.70, good for first place. Stoddard also had a NCAA qualifying time in the 100 breast during weekend action.
 
Senior Morgan Pfaff (Red Lion, Pa.) registered a first-place time in the 200 fly with a time of 2:00.12. The mark was the fastest for Pfaff this season, as she shed more than four seconds off of her previous best for the year.
Junior Meghan Kiely (Mountain Lakes, N.J.) produced a season best in the 100 free with a total time of 51.78, while junior Chantal Asselin (Winnipeg, MB, Canada) secured a season-best time of 16:57.20 in the 1650 free.
 
In relay action, Wu, Kiely, Koprivova and freshman Cynthia Wu (Princeton, N.J.) secured a time of 3:25.68, the fastest a Scarlet Knight quartet has finished in the race during the Frank Elm invite.
 
Off the boards, RU competed in the platform diving event, as sophomore Addison Walkowiak (Ballston Spa, N.Y.) led all divers with a score of 260.25. Junior Alyssa Black (Middletown, N.Y.) finished second with a score of 213.95, while freshman teammate Rachel Byrne (Bedford, N.H.) added a third-place total of 209.35.
 
The Scarlet Knights return to the pool on Saturday, Dec. 5, when RU competes against Boston and Connecticut at the RU Aquatics Center.

 

Liberty

The Liberty swimming & diving team earned a fifth-place finish at the three-day Rutgers Invitational, which wrapped up Sunday at RU Aquatics Center.
      
Liberty totaled 770.5 points, good for fifth place. Navy took home the team championship, scoring 2,096.5 points. Host Rutgers finished second with 1,503 points. Northeastern (1,012.5), James Madison (921.5) and Liberty (770.5) rounded out the top five teams in the 10-team field.
      
The meet featured a similar event program as the 2016 CCSA Swimming & Diving Championships. However, unlike the conference championships, the Rutgers Invitational allowed for unlimited entries, leading to multiple relays and extra individuals scoring per school.
        
Liberty’s distance swimmers had a strong showing to open the finals session. Kristin VanDeventer took third place with a lifetime-best 16:54.95 in the 1,650 free. Hannah Wakeley claimed 11th in 17:18.21, while Dani Jordan (17:19.34) and Ashlee Sall (17:28.74) followed in 12th and 13th, respectively. VanDeventer’s time puts her second on Liberty’s all-time top five performers, while Jordan moves into fourth place in program history.
        
Victoria Tschoke swam 2:02.93 during prelims of the 200 back, qualifying for the A Final. Tschoke placed eighth in 2:08.19 at night. Alicia Finnigan finished 27th overall with a 2:07.28 in the finals, after qualifying in 2:08.09. Natalie Beale placed 29th with a finals time of 2:08.03 following a 2:09.24 preliminary swim. Jordan (2:14.27) and Ashley Mauzy (2:14.75) took 41st and 43rd position, respectively.
        
Kendall Hough made the B Final with a 51.88 during 100 free prelims. She then placed 15th in finals, at 52.56. Prudence Rooker swam a season-best 52.46 in the morning before posting a 23rd-place showing in 52.97. Rachel Hoeve claimed 28th overall in 52.93, after swimming a season-best 52.78 in the morning. Sall’s season-best 52.88 earned her an evening swim, where she finished 31st in 53.22.
        
Chelsea Pond tied for 42nd in the 100 free in 53.72, while Shelby Black (47th – 54.11), Ricki Lee Hodges (49th – 54.31), Danielle Boothe (52nd – 54.45) and Siani Null (58th – 55.86) all completed preliminary swims on Sunday.
        
All four of Liberty’s 200 breaststroke participants clocked season bests on Sunday. Rooker led the way, with a 12th-place showing in 2:21.33 during the B Final. She qualified at 2:22.78. Morgan Noonan turned in a 2:23.24 in prelims, before swimming 2:21.93 in the evening for 14th place. Anna Dickinson placed 18th in finals in a season-best 2:23.97. Morgan Weigner finished 32nd overall with her season best time, 2:35.86.
        
Finnigan earned 11th place in the 200 fly with a finals time of 2:05.73, after qualifying in 2:06.21. Wakeley swam 2:07.47 in the morning before finishing 16th at night in 2:08.36. Ranndi Grubbs clocked a 2:12.34 in prelims before lowering her season best to 2:11.49 to claim 30th place. Elizabeth Magnusson’s 2:14.82 was good for 36th.
        
The Lady Flames finished the meet with a 12th-place showing in the 400 free relay. The quartet of Hough, Hoeve, Sall and Rooker posted a 3:32.11 effort.
        
Following this week’s invitational, Liberty is scheduled to open the 2016 portion of the season with its annual Florida training trip. The Lady Flames will compete in the Florida Gulf Coast Quad Meet, Jan. 9 at FGCU Aquatics Complex in Fort Myers, Fla.

 

New Hampshire

The University of New Hampshire women's swimming & diving team concluded action at the Frank Elm Invitational, held at the Sonny Werblin Recreation Center on Sunday, Nov. 22.

Sophomores Liza Baykova (Moscow, Russia) and Jessica Harper (Easthampton, Mass.) headlined the 'Cats on the last day of the three-day event.

Baykova zipped through the water in the 100-yard freestyle, qualifying for the A final with a preliminary time of 51.85 seconds. She trimmed off 1.24 seconds in her finals race, hitting the panel third out of the field for a time of 50.61.

Harper turned in two individual top-10 finishes on the day. Harper started the day with a 2:06.44 preliminary time in the 200-yard butterfly, qualifying for the B final. She then swam in the 1,650-yard freestyle event, muscling out a seven-place time of 17:04.13. Harper then jumped back into the pool and skimmed through water for a 2:05.02 mark in the 200-yard butterfly, good for seventh-place.

Four other Wildcats competed with Harper in the 1,650-yard freestyle. Freshman Brittany Driscoll (Wallingford, Conn.) turned in a 19th place finish in the event, cutting through the water for a time of 17:44.19. Sophomore Bridget Miller (Longmeadow, Mass.) was on the heels of Driscoll, finishing with a 20th-place performance of 17:54.02. Rookie Brittany Moffatt (Cedar Falls, Iowa) finished 23rd (17:49.64) while Lauren Marsden (Annapolis, Md.) placed 28th (8:37.32) to round out the UNH finishers.

Freshman Linnea Lemerise (Brentwood, N.H.) was the lone Wildcat representative who turned in a top-32 performance in the 200-yard backstroke. The rookie qualified for the C final with a time of 2:07.29. She improved on her prelim time in the finals, touching the wall at 2:06.96, placing 23rd.

Senior Bettina Caspersen (Lyngby, Denmark) headlined the 'Cats in the 200-yard breaststroke. She parted the water for an 11th-place finish of 2:20.59. Junior Sarah Olver (Durham, N.H.) and Driscoll also notched qualifying times. Following a 2:26.81 preliminary performance, Olver captured a 21st place time of 2:25.64. Driscoll placed 31st in the event, slamming the panel at 2:32.92.

Accompanying Harper in the 200-yard butterfly, freshman Vivian El-Sibay (Munich, Germany) turned in a top-32 preliminary time of 2:10.72. She slashed 2.80 seconds off her initial time in the finals, placing 26th in the field with a mark of 2:07.92.

UNH wrapped up the meet by competing in the 400-yard freestyle relay. The quartet of junior Sarah Broderick (Haverhill, Mass.), sophomore Kaitlin Cahill (Troy, N.Y.), freshman Maddie Murphy (Liverpool, N.Y.) and Harper forged a 17th-place performance of 3:34.99, finishing 17thout of 26 squads.

New Hampshire is off until Jan. 2 when it competes at the Citrus Classic. The Wildcats return Swasey Pool on Friday, Jan. 29 (5 p.m.) against America East rival University of Maine.

 

Northeastern

The Northeastern women's swimming and diving team earned third place in the final day of the Frank Elm Invitational, hosted by Rutgers University, Nov. 20-22.
 
The Red and Black finished with 1,052 points, while Navy locked in first with 2,096.50 points and Rutgers earned second with 1,503 points.
 
"Our team battled the entire weekend," said head coach Roy Coates. "We were up against top-notch competition and performed admirably. We will use this experience to address our areas of weakness, continue to fine-tune our strengths and ultimately be ready to perform at the CAA Championships."
 
Throughout the three-day meet, the Huskies tabbed 13 new team season bests out of the 21 events. The weekend was highlighted by Sara Touchette-McGowan achieving an NCAA B-cut in the 100 butterfly on Saturday. The sophomore swam to second place with a time of 54.40.
 
Sunday season best highlights
• Kerry Treusdell tagged the wall in the 1650 freestyle in 17:11.93 for a ninth place finish in the A-cut final.
• Christine Leong finished the 200 backstroke in 2:04.13, finishing fifth in the B-cut and 13th overall.
• Tove Bjork collected seventh place in the B-cut of the 200 breaststroke with 2:23.78, and a 15th place finish overall.
• Delaney Lanker shaved off  .25 from her previous team season best in the 200 butterfly to register a new one of 2:04.55, picking up seventh place in the A-cut final.
• Sara Touchette-McGowan, Carly Schnabel, Amanda Liew and Rachel Green finished the 400 freestyle relay in 3:33.32 for 15th overall.
 
Platform
• Alyssa Seales earned fourth place (156.50), followed by Caroline Gonsalves in fifth (139.85).
• Mackenzie Hagist finished in seventh place with 123.80 points.
 
200 butterfly
• Jordan Domeier was right behind Lanker with 2:07.57 for eighth place.
 
100 freestyle
• Sara Touchette-McGowan finished in 53:33 with an eighth place spot in the B-cut final, 16th overall.

Northeastern will end the year with its annual training trip to Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, December 27 - January 3, 2016. The Huskies will pick up competition in the New Year with the Delaware Pod Meet and see CAA opponents the Blue Hens and Drexel. The meet is set for 12 p.m.

 

Wagner

The Wagner women's swimming and diving team closed out the Frank Elm Invitational, shattering five more records Sunday at the Werblin Recreation Center. The Seahawks finished the weekend with nine broken records for the meet.
 
Wagner placed sixth overall with 747 points at the conclusion of the invitational. Despite the sixth place finish, the Seahawks finished first out of all of the Northeast Conference (NEC) members that attended the Frank Elm invite. Central Connecticut finished seventh behind Wagner with 691 points and Sacred Heart took 10th with 210 points.
 
"I'm very proud of the girls' effort this weekend," said head coach Colin Shannahan. "We have raised our training to a higher level this year and it's nice to see their effort and consistent hard work starting to pay off. On much shorter rest than last year, we saw significantly faster swims, so we are headed in the right direction."
 
The 400 Free Relay team of junior Anu Nihipali (Honolulu, HI/Hawaii Preparatory Academy), freshman Dorian McMenemy (Northborough, MA/Algonquin Regional), and sophomore's Kirsty Hessing (Bloomington, IL/Normal Community) and Maddie McNichol (Downingtown, PA/Henderson) claimed fourth place overall in a Wagner school-record time of 3:26.48.
 
Nihipali put on another impressive performance in the final day of competition, picking up her second gold medal of the three-day affair when she took first place in the 100 Free (49.99). After Sunday morning's prelims, Nihipali was seated second going into finals. The junior swam a 50.95 Sunday morning which broke the Wagner school record from 2013. That all changed Sunday night when the Hawaii native recorded a remarkable 49.99 to take first place overall in the event. Her time of 49.99 broke the Wagner school record she set earlier in the day, is a NCAA qualifying "B" cut and shattered the Frank Elm meet record which stood since 2005. It is now the fastest time in the NEC as well.
 
During Sunday morning's prelims, junior Katja Claesson (Fullerton, CA/Troy) finished her weekend on a high note, time trailing the 100 Breaststroke and making the U.S. Winter National qualifying mark while resetting the Wagner school record she had set the day before with a time of 1:02.81. The junior concluded competition with the 200 Breaststroke during Sunday evening's finals, claiming seventh place overall with a time of 2:18.67.
 
Senior Amanda Lucia (Easthampton, MA/Easthampton) was seated fifth heading into Sunday night's finals after swimming a 2:04.16 in prelims that morning. The senior dropped two places to claim third overall in the event during finals, touching the wall in a time of 2:01.64.
 
In the timed final of the 1,650 Freestyle, senior Maggie Shaw (Chantilly, VA/Chantilly) finished eighth overall with a time of 17:10.24 while sophomore teammate Leahi Camacho (Kailua Kona, HI/Kealakene) recorded a 17:43.08 which would place her 18th overall.
 
Senior Erin Malone (Sewell, NJ/Washington Township) took 10th place overall in the 200 Back after being seated 13th going into finals while fellow senior Seahawk Kaitlin Murtha (New Fairfield, CT/New Fairfield) dropped a place claiming 17th overall after being seated 18th in the same event. Malone recorded a time of 2:03.39 while Murtha posted a 2:05.97, respectively.
 
It was historic day for the Wagner Diving Program as senior Erica Curry (Fountain Valley, CA/Fountain Valley) attempted the women's platform, the first diver to ever do so for the Seahawks. Curry placed sixth with a school-record mark of 134.35 points.
 
"Our divers had a fantastic meet and remain one of the strongest aspects of the lineup," added Shannahan. "This was the first time in Wagner history that we had a diver compete on the platform and Erica [Curry] was outstanding."
 
Wagner will return to action December 2-5 when Claesson, Lucia, and Nihipali attend the 2015 AT&T U.S. Winter National Championships at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, WA. 

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