Liberty opened the season with a victory against Campbell on the road in North Carolina as the Flames notched a 144-134 triumph.
Liberty Press Release
BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Liberty opened its 2016-17 swimming & diving season with a 144-134 victory over Campbell, Saturday at Johnson Natatorium.
With the win, the Lady Flames (1-0) improve to 8-2 all-time against Campbell, running their winning streak to eight in the all-time series. The Camels fall to 0-1 on the season. The Lady Flames have defeated Campbell in their season opener during each of the last three seasons. These two teams will meet again on Jan. 20 at the LaHaye Aquatics Center.
Liberty won seven individual events on the afternoon, while the Camels captured six individual-event victories and both relay races.
For Liberty, Prudence Rooker won both the 100 back and 100 IM, while Rachel Hoeve earned victory in the 50 free and 100 free. Victoria Tschoke (200 back), Morgan Noonan (200 breaststroke) and Ashlee Sall (500 free) won one event each.
Campbell’s Caroline Clark earned half of her team’s six event victories, taking the 100 fly, 200 fly and 200 IM.
Campbell won the 200 medley relay in 1:46.67 to begin the meet. Liberty’s team of Tschoke, Rooker, Ashley Mauzy and Chelsea Pond finished second in 1:49.18.
The Camels claimed the first two individual events on the day.
Geena Squartino took first in the 1,000 free, clocking 10:37.58. Liberty’s Delia Weber swam 10:44.10 for second.
Campbell’s Sindija Silina earned a first-place finish for 200 free, touching the wall in 1:54.89, while Lady Flames Ashlee Sall (1:55.58) and Pond (1:56.38) came in second and third, respectively.
Liberty took first and second in the 100 backstroke, led by Rooker’s 59.03. Tschoke placed second with a 59.24 clocking.
Campbell then claimed the 100 breaststroke, as Taylor McMinn took top honors with a time of 1:06.87. The visitors finished second through fourth, with Taylor Lynch (1:09.08) coming in second, Noonan (1:09.53) in third and Morgan Weigner (1:10.50) in fourth.
Clark picked up her first victory of the afternoon, swimming 2:06.55 to win the 200 fly, while Alicia Finnigan earned second for Liberty in 2:07.18.
The Lady Flames won six events in a row, beginning with Hoeve’s winning effort of 23.66 in the 50 free. Her teammates, Hannah Baker (24.82) and Colleen Donlin (24.99), finished third and fourth, in that order.
Liberty earned the top two spots in the 100 IM, as Rooker won in 59.34 and Brittany Weiss followed closely behind, in 59.48.
Hoeve added a 100 free victory to her ledger, clocking 52.32 for first place to edge out Campbell’s Michelle Case (52.85). Pond finished third in 53.14.
Tschoke’s 2:06.53 earned her a win in the 200 back, continuing the Lady Flames’ streak of victories.
Noonan turned in a winning time of 2:22.92 in the 200 breaststroke, while McMinn took second for the Camels in 2:25.02 and Taylor Lynch (2:28.37) came in third.
Sall won the 500 free in 5:08.51, followed by a pair of Camels in second and third.
Clark then earned back-to-back victories, beginning with the 100 fly, as she out-touched Weiss at the wall, 56.77 to 56.78. Finnigan finished third in a time of 59.38.
Clark’s 200 IM of 2:11.56 was good for first place, while Taylor Lynch took second in 2:12.45.
The Camels closed out the meet with a win in the 200 free relay, clocking 1:36.73. Liberty’s team of Pond, Elizabeth Magnusson, Donlin and Baker went 1:37.51 for second.
Liberty will travel to Colorado for the first time in program history next weekend. The Lady Flames will compete in the Intermountain Shootout, hosted by Colorado Mesa in Grand Junction, Colo., Friday and Saturday. While in Colorado, Liberty will face the host Mavericks, along with Utah, BYU and Air Force.
Campbell Press Release
BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Liberty staved off a Campbell comeback over the day’s final three events, taking a 144-134 win in the 2016-17 season opener for both schools Saturday at the Johnson Aquatic Center.
Campbell (0-1) opened the meet with a win in the 200 medley relay (1:46.67), followed by individual victories for Geena Squartino (1,000 freestyle, 10:37.58) and Sindija Silina (200 free, 1:54.89) to give the Camels an early 33-19 lead through three events.
The Flames (1-0) picked up their first event win in the 100 backstroke with Prudence Rooker (59.03) and Victoria Tschoke (59.24) going one-two.
Through six events, Campbell held a 62-47 lead, with Caroline Clark taking a victory in the 200 butterfly with a time of 2:06.55. Karah Sizemore (2:11.25) and Madison Scott (2:23.47) took third and fourth in the 200 fly to extend the CU lead.
Liberty took its first lead after the 100 IM (74-73), led by Rooker’s 59.34.
The Flames led 125-98 with three events remaining.
Clark then took the 100 fly (56.77) and the 200 IM (2:11.56) in consecutive events, pulling the Camels within 138-123 with only the 200 free relay remaining.
Campbell claimed the top spot with a 1:36.73 mark, but Liberty claimed second (1:37.51) and third (1:39.09) to hold off the Camels.
Next up for Campbell will be a trip to UNC Asheville on Oct. 8 (11 a.m.) for its road opener.
