VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. / LYNCHBURG, Va. – The Sweet Briar College swim team (2-7) completed its second-straight set of back-to-back meets over the past two days, first heading to face the Virginia Wesleyan University Marlins (2-0) on Friday before continuing to see action against the University of Lynchburg Hornets and the Milligan University Buffaloes on Saturday.
The Vixens fell to the Marlins by a score of 87-202 in their home pool before also dropping their tri-meet to the Hornets and Buffaloes by scores of 218-25 and 211-26, respectively, at the Liberty Natatorium.
Action on Friday night got underway with a second-place finish in the 200-yard medley relay. Senior
Kass Carpenter (Mechanicsville, Va.) and juniors
Jillian Lewis (Ellicott City, Md.),
Acadia ElzHowe (Georgetown, Texas) and
Mary Catherine Warner (Virginia Beach, Va.) combined for a time of 2:03.70.
Junior
Gaby Aparicio was the lone competitor in the 1000-yard freestyle, recording a time of 13:28.6.
In the 200-yard freestyle, Carpenter placed second with a time of 2:11.54 while Lewis and first-year
Ella Scherrer (Simpsonville, Va.) placed fourth and fifth with times of 2:29.56 and 2:37.68, respectively.
ElzHowe nabbed the Vixens' second victory of the night in the 100-yard butterfly thanks to her performance time of 1:03.70. Warner came fifth in the event with a time of 1:16.27.
Lewis completed the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:19.60 to be crowned the runner-up and junior
Viya Atambayeva (Almaty, Kazakhstan) earned a time of 1:56.29 to come in fifth in her first-ever showing in the event.
The second victory of the meet for ElzHowe came in the 500-yard freestyle as she recorded a time of 5:47.06. Carpenter was right behind her in second with a time of 5:55.02.
Carpenter also placed second in the 200-yard IM while Aparicio placed fourth with both recording times of 2:34.52 and 2:53.79, respectively.
Sweet Briar's time in Virginia Beach concluded with a second-place showing in the 200-yard freestyle relay as Warner, Scherrer, first-year
Abby Place (Lynchburg, Va.) and Aparicio recorded a time of 2:01.58.
The team got its first taste of action in Liberty in the 400-yard IM where Lewis placed fourth with a time of 5:41.66.
In the 200-yard freestyle, ElzHowe would place seventh and Carpenter 10th after recording times of 2:13.23 and 2:17.17, respectively.
The Vixens also saw a top-10 finish in the 100-yard backstroke thanks to Warner's time of 1:11.91 to place her in eighth. First-year Julia Elliott (Norfolk, Va.) placed 11th in her first meet of the week with a time of 1:50.12.
Warner, Scherrer and Place took eighth-10th place in the 50-yard freestyle after recording times of 27.66, 30.37 and 32.06, respectively.
Elliott would go on to take ninth in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 1:37.47 followed by Atambayeva in 10th with a time of 1:38.17.
Seventh-place finishes in both the 200-yard backstroke and the 200-yard breaststroke were earned by ElzHowe and Lewis. ElzHowe completed her race in 2:32.22 while Lewis made her final touch to the wall at the 2:54.41 mark.
Carpenter and Aparicio closed out action for the team with eighth and ninth-place finishes in the 500-yard freestyle. Carpenter recorded a time of 6:03.46 while Aparicio had a time of 6:39.97.
Highlights
- Scherrer's time of 2:37.68 in the 200-yard freestyle and 30.37 in the 50-yard breaststroke against the Marlins mark new personal bests.
- Warner also recorded a new personal best time on Friday night in the 50-yard backstroke while Place competed in the event for the first time at a collegiate meet.
- Lewis claimed a new personal best in the 100-yard freestyle while in Virginia Beach and contested the 400-yard IM for the first time in her collegiate career in Lynchburg.
- Elliott saw action in the 100-yard freestyle for the first time against the Hornets and Buffaloes while Atambayeva recorded a new personal best in the race.
What's Next
The Vixens will head to the Pacer Invitational, Nov. 17-18 in Raleigh, N.C.
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