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Rutgers Closes Out Frank Elm Invitational

The Frank Elm Invitational took place this weekend in Piscataway, N.J. 

Rutgers Press Release

PISCATAWAY, N.J. (Nov. 20, 2016) – Rutgers swimming added six more NCAA B cuts, as senior Rachel Stoddard and sophomores Vera Koprivova and Francesca Stoppa all collected NCAA B marks in both preliminary and finals action to close out competition at the Frank Elm Invitational on Sunday. 
 
“I was really pleased with the efforts that we put into competition this weekend,” said head coach Petra Martin. “Even though we were not well rested, we still had fast times, so that’s exciting. It can be deceiving because last year, you might have seen similar times to what we had this year, but we had rest last year. I’m really excited for what we can do in the next few weeks.”

Having already produced three NCAA B cuts on Saturday, Koprivova added a two more with her times in the preliminary and finals of the 200 backstroke. Koprivova hit the wall with a time of 1:55.91 in the 200 back final, the fastest result in the event for her this year. Koprivova also contributed NCAA B marks in the 100 backstroke final and the 400 IM preliminary and final heats during Saturday action.

Stoppa ended her weekend with two NCAA B cuts and a first-place finish of 1:58.93 in the 200 butterfly final, having also placed first with a NCAA B cut of 54.04 in the 100 butterfly the night prior. 

Stoddard also added another NCAA B cut to her resume in the 200 breaststroke, coming in second with a time of 2:14.95. It added to her first-place NCAA B result of 1:01.87 on Saturday. 

Other notable individual performances on Sunday included junior Larissa Neilan’s third-place time in the 200 breaststroke at 2:16.41 and rookie Clare Lawlor’s finish of fifth in the 100 freestyle with a mark of 50.88. 

RU closed out the Frank Elm Invite with a third-place result in the 400 freestyle relay, as Lawlor, freshman Alexandra Fabugais-Inaba, freshman Meghan Moses and senior Meghan Kiely came in with a time of 3:26.14.
 
Rutgers returns to action Dec. 2-4, when the Scarlet Knights head to Providence, Rhode Island for the Bruno Invitational.

Liberty Press Release

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – The Liberty swimming & diving team saw a pair of program records lowered on Sunday’s third and final day of the Frank Elm Invite, held at RU Aquatics Center.

For the meet, Liberty came in seventh place out of 10 teams, as the Lady Flames scored 729 points. Navy won the event with 1,804.5 points, followed in second by Columbia, at 1,233. Northeastern (1,194.5), Rutgers (1,057) and Central Connecticut (770) round out the top five. Wagner placed sixth with 753.5 points, followed by Liberty (729), James Madison (447), LIU Brooklyn (343) and LIU Post, in that order.

This weekend’s meet served as a preview of sorts for the 2017 CCSA Swimming & Diving Championships. Unlike the conference meet, the Frank Elm Invite allowed for unlimited entries and scorers per event.

Delia Weber won the 1,650 freestyle in a program-record 16:43.69, and also set the school record in the 1,000 free while swimming 10:04.44 on the way out. She broke Hannah Wakeley’s records of 16:45.43 and 10:06.55, set at the 2015 CCSA Championships. Dani Jordan placed seventh in 17:19.16, while Ashlee Sall swam 17:33.40 for 18th place.

Alicia Finnigan turned in a third-place performance in the 200 fly, clocking 2:03.14 in the A Final. Ashley Mauzy claimed 21st place in 2:11.41.

Prudence Rooker pocketed a fifth-place finish in the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:17.91, while Morgan Noonan won the B Final, taking ninth overall in 2:19.79. Morgan Weigner (2:32.73) and Taylor Lynch (2:35.09) took 40th and 41st places, respectively.

Jenna Joyal earned seventh place in one-meter diving, with her finals score of 223.25 ranking third in program history.

Rachel Hoeve led a large Liberty contingent in the 100 free after swimming 52.22 for 15th overall. Hoeve went 51.76 in morning qualifying. Hannah Baker clocked 52.30, good for 19th overall. The following 10 Lady Flames also completed preliminary heats: Colleen Donlin (53.66), Elizabeth Magnusson (54.04), Chelsea Pond (54.12), Shelby Black (54.28), Ricki Lee Hodges (54.30), Brittany Weiss (54.99), Rachel Rippey (55.94), Danielle Boothe (56.02), Siani Null (56.43) and Corrilynn Lynch (57.19).

Victoria Tschoke placed 26th overall in the 200 back after clocking 2:06.05. Weber, qualified for the D Final in 2:07.95, before finishing 32nd at 2:14.08. Jordan (2:09.27), Caroline Allen (2:12.92) and Boothe (2:14.44) all competed in prelims.

The Lady Flames closed out the meet by placing eighth in the 400 free relay. The group of Pond, Hoeve, Baker and Rooker went 3:28.22, a time that is seventh on the program’s all-time top 10 list.

Following this weekend’s invitational, Liberty is scheduled to open the 2017 portion of the season with its annual Florida training trip. The Lady Flames will compete against two-time defending CCSA champion Florida Gulf Coast, Jan. 7 at FGCU Aquatics Complex in Fort Myers, Fla.

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