Rutgers kicked off day one of the Frank Elm Invite with a pool record.
Rutgers Press Release
PISCATAWAY, N.J. (Nov. 18, 2016) – Sophomore Vera Koprivova, senior Rachel Stoddard, sophomore Francesca Stoppa and freshman Alexandra Fabugais-Inaba set a pool record in the 400 medley relay for Rutgers swimming and diving in session one of the Frank Elm Invitational. In total, the Scarlet Knights produced four top-three times during the first leg of action at the RU Aquatics Center.
RU closed the meet with a first-place result in the 400 medley relay, as Koprivova, Stoddard, Stoppa and Fabugais-Inaba hit the wall with a time of 3:40.77. The mark shattered the pool record of 3:42.52 set in 2006.
Rutgers started the night with a second-place finish in the 200 freestyle relay. Freshman Vanessa Ruiz, senior Meghan Kiely, freshman Meghan Moses and freshman Clare Lawlor finished with a mark of 1:33.22.
Stoddard had an impressive night for RU in individual action, concluding second in the 200 IM with a time of 2:02.48. The Hillsborough, New Jersey, native entered the meet with the top preliminary time set earlier in the day.
Fabugais-Inaba placed third in the 500 freestyle, as the rookie added a career-best time of 4:55.94. Fabugais-Inaba also competed in the 200 IM, where she concluded ninth with a mark of 2:04.84.
The Scarlet Knights continue with day two of the Frank Elm Invite tomorrow. The preliminary session begins at 9:30 a.m., followed by the finals at 5 p.m.
Wagner Press Release
Piscataway, NY – The Wagner College swimming and diving team set a new school record in the 200 free relay and sits in seventh place after the first day of competition at the Frank Elm Invitational, hosted by Rutgers University.
"I'm very proud of the toughness the team showed today. swimming season-best times, many lifetime bests and a new school record," said head coach Colin Shannahan. "Our divers competed fiercely against some of the best competition they will see all year and the swimmers gutted out some tough swims on some very short rest."
Freshmen Kelsey Eastman (Effort, PA / Pleasant Valley) and Kirsty Hessing (Bloomington, IL / Normal Community), along with sophomore Andrea Gustafsson (Malmo, Sweden / ProCivitas Privata Gymnasium), and senior tri-captain Anu Nihipali (Honolulu, HI / Hawaii Preparatory Academy) combined for a 1:33.84 finish in the 200 free relay, which bested the previous record by 0.42 seconds. The quartet's performance was good for fifth place in the competition.
The Seahawks finished sixth overall in the 400 medley relay, as Nihipali, senior Katja Claesson (Fullerton, CA / Troy High School), Gustafsson, and Hessing touched the wall in 3:48.04.
In the 50 Free, Nihipali placed sixth overall, finishing in 23.65 seconds for her third top-6 finish of the day, while Gustafsson placed fourth in the C-Finals (23.94) and 20th overall.
In the 3-meter diving competition, Wagner notched two top-10 finishes on the day. Junior Sam Lavrich (Audubon, PA / Methacton) finished fifth with 236.40 points, while sophomore Grace Solipaca (Philadelphia, PA / Bishop Eustace) placed eighth with 191.80 points.
"Today was our best performance of the year as a team," said head diving coach Samantha Russo. "Going up against some of the best schools in the Northeast is not easy, but the team did a great job staying focused on every dive. We are really excited for the 1-meter competition on Sunday."
As a team, the Green and White are in seventh place with 225 points and second among other Northeast Conference (NEC) schools, sitting only behind Central Connecticut State in the overall standings after the first of three days in the pool.
The Frank Elm Invitational resumes tomorrow with five preliminary races at 9:30 am and seven finals at 5:00 pm.
Liberty Press Release
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – The Liberty swimming & diving team is currently in sixth place following day one of the Frank Elm Invite Friday at the RU Aquatics Center.
The Lady Flames scored 234 points on the opening night of competition, putting them nine points ahead of Wagner. Navy leads the meet with 518.5 points, followed in second by Northeastern, with 416. Columbia (387), Rutgers (306.5) and Central Connecticut (248) round out the top five.
The meet features a similar event program as the 2017 CCSA Swimming and Diving Championships. However, unlike the conference championships, the Rutgers Invitational allows for unlimited entries, leading to multiple relays and extra individuals scoring per school.
Liberty placed third in the 200 free relay to begin the evening finals session. The quartet of Hannah Baker, Rachel Hoeve, Prudence Rooker and Brittany Weiss clocked the team’s fastest 200 free relay of the season, 1:33.74.
Hoeve finished fourth overall in the 50 free final, at 23.56 after swimming 23.46 in prelims. Baker clocked 23.64 in the morning before earning seventh overall with a 23.71 in the A Final. Colleen Donlin took 28th overall with her 24.04 D Final swim, while Weiss earned 31st in 24.34. Ricki Lee Hodges (24.35 – 34th), Chelsea Pond (24.46 – 40th), Danielle Booth (24.53 – 42nd), Corrilynn Lynch (25.52 – 68th), Siani Null (25.74 – t-72nd) and Rachel Rippey (25.94) also completed morning swims in the 50 free.
Rooker earned a B Final appearance in the 200 individual medley, clocking 2:04.87 in the evening for 10th place. Taylor Lynch claimed 47th in 2:13.01, while Victoria Tschoke swam 2:14.17 to take 49thplace and Morgan Wiegner finished 60th in 2:18.39.
Delia Weber clocked 5:00.89 in the 500 free C final to earn 19th place. Her time puts Weber seventh on Liberty’s all-time top performer list for 500 free. Alicia Finnigan placed 26th overall in 5:02.89, while Ashlee Sall (5:09.23 – 30th) and Morgan Noonan (5:09.72 – 32nd) also made the D Final. Morning prelims saw Elizabeth Magnusson swim 5:13.13 for 48th, Dani Jordan take 57th in 5:15.94, Shelby Black clock 5:19.05 for 59th and Caroline Allen’s 5:37.25 effort plac3 64th.
Jenna Joyal won the B Final in three-meter diving, taking ninth place overall with a season-best 195.95.
Liberty’s A 400 medley relay of Tschoke, Rooker, Weiss and Hoeve finished 11th with a season-best 3:51.47.
The Lady Flames return to the RU Aquatics Center tomorrow, for day two of the Frank Elm Invite. Tomorrow’s program opens at 10 a.m., with prelims of the 400 individual medley. Evening finals will begin at 5 p.m., and day two concludes with the 800 free relay finals.
