The Seattle University women’s swim team continued to break personal records, and one swimmer notched a new school record, as competition continued Friday at the 2014 WAC Swimming and Diving Championships at the Palo Alto College Natatorium.
“The team swam well today, I feel that they are getting better session by session,” Seattle U head swim coach Craig Nisgor said. “We are hoping for a big day tomorrow with more records to cap off the week.”
Blaise Wittenauer-Lee (Portland, Ore.) qualified for the “A” final in the 100 breaststroke with a preliminary time of 1:04.07. She continued to improve upon her personal-best time in the evening session, finishing seventh overall with a mark of 1:03.67.
Also in the 100 breaststroke, Annika Perry (Reno, Nev.) put together a time of 1:06.33, fifth-best in program history, while Caroline Van Maren (Bellevue, Wash.) finished in 1:06.70, moving up into sixth place on the all-time list. Perry earned an opportunity to swim in the “C” final, posting a time of 1:06.53 in the evening session.
Jane Liggett (Portland, Ore.) set a new school record in the 100 butterfly during the morning session with a time of 56.38 seconds, and then she won the “B” final for a ninth place finish overall with a mark of 56.44 seconds. In the “C” final, Melissa Randolf (Everett, Wash.) improved upon her morning time of 58.95 seconds with a personal-best mark of 57.85 seconds. Rachael Rodriguez (Round Rock, Texas) also competed in the morning session and posted a time of 1:00.04.
Kate Sabourin (Santa Rosa, Calif.) advanced to the “B” final of the 400 individual medley with a time of 4:35.39, and then she finished 16th overall with a time of 4:32.59. Bethany Gehrke (Lynnwood, Wash.) won the “C” final with a time of 4:29.00 after posting a mark of 4:37.71 in the morning session. Sidney Pinger (Tualatin, Ore.) cut almost three full seconds off her morning time in the evening, going from 4:38.57 to 4:35.66, sixth-best in school history. Mackenzie Gant (Richland, Wash.) also improved, going from 4:38.33 to 4:38.01.
In the 100 backstroke, Carlee Bock (Bellingham, Wash.) finished the morning session in 58.19 seconds, while Katie Rottman (Phoenix, Ariz.) posted a time of 59.96 seconds. In the “C” final, Bock improved upon the third-best time in program history with a mark of 58.15 seconds.
Kristin Hoffman (Mercer Island, Wash.) earned Seattle U’s best time in the 200 freestyle preliminaries at 1:54.28, followed by a time of 1:55.71 in the “C” final. Emma Foster (Clancy, Mont.) finished her preliminary swim in 1:56.81, followed by Stephanie Bayless (Spokane, Wash.) in 1:58.16, Nicole Doi (Pleasanton, Calif.) in 1:58.24, Melanie Frey (Seattle, Wash.) in 2:03.20, and Whitney Dean (Campbell, Calif.) in 2:03.95.
Wrapping up the evening session, the team of Bock, Wittenauer-Lee, Liggett, and Doi posted the fifth-fastest time in program history in the 400 medley relay, combining for a mark of 3:53.09. As a team, the Redhawks are in eighth place with 112 points, with Northern Arizona (476 points) holding a short lead over Idaho (457 points) heading into the final day of competition.
The WAC Swimming and Diving Championships conclude Saturday, March 1, starting with the preliminary session at 10 a.m. local time and culminating with the finals at 6 p.m. Central time.