The Seattle University women’s swim team gave itself several opportunities to score points Friday as the third day of the 2015 Western Athletic Conference Swimming and Diving Championships took place at the Palo Alto College Natatorium.
Blaise Wittenauer-Lee (Portland, Ore.) posted the second-best preliminary time in the 100 breaststroke at 1:02.65. She maintained that second position in the evening final for a silver medal with a time of 1:02.63, out-touching the third-place finisher by 1/100th of a second.
Also in the 100 breaststroke preliminaries, Annika Perry (Reno, Nev.) finished 18th with a time of 1:05.56, while Caroline Van Maren (Bellevue, Wash.) finished 23rd in 1:06.25. Perry won the “C” final in the evening session with a time of 1:05.51, and Van Maren finished fifth in the evening race in 1:06.26.
Kristin Hoffman (Mercer Island, Wash.) posted the third-fastest time in program history during the morning session of the 200 freestyle, finishing fifth in the preliminaries in 1:51.17. She then moved up to second place on the SU top times list and threatened to take first place, finishing fourth in the evening final for Second Team All-WAC honors with a time of 1:50.52, just 2/100ths of a second off the school record.
Elsewhere in the 200 freestyle preliminaries, Madi Lydig (Spokane, Wash.) finished in 24th place with a time of 1:55.49, followed by Allie McGavock (Glen Ellyn, Ill.) in 28th place in 1:57.86 and Emma Foster (Clancy, Mont.) in 31st place in 1:59.69.
To cap off the night, the Redhawks set its fourth relay school record in as many attempts this week, as Carlee Bock (Bellingham, Wash.), Wittenauer-Lee, Jane Liggett (Portland, Ore.), and Hoffman combined to finish sixth in the 400 medley relay in 3:48.80, over a second faster than the previous record set four years ago.
“We have had some great performances this week, and tonight was no exception, especially with Blaise and Kristin earning all-conference honors,” Seattle U head coach Craig Nisgor said. “There is just one day to go, and I think we are going to have some more outstanding performances to cap off the meet.”
Kate Sabourin (Santa Rosa, Calif.) posted the third-best time in program history in the 400 individual medley, qualifying for the “B” final with a mark of 4:31.45. She improved on that time in the evening session, finishing fourth in the “B” final and 12th overall with a time of 4:30.71.
Also in the 400 IM prelims, Bethany Gehrke (Lynnwood, Wash.) finished in 17th place with a time of 4:36.63, followed by Sidney Pinger (Tualatin, Ore.) in 18th place in 4:37.48. Gehrke won the “C” final with a time of 4:33.43, with Pinger posting a time of 4:38.76.
Liggett earned a spot in the “B” final of the 100 butterfly after finishing 14th in the morning session in 57.40 seconds. She improved to a time of 57.06 seconds in the evening session, finishing fifth in her race and 13th overall.
Rachael Rodriguez (Round Rock, Texas) finished in 21st place in the 100 butterfly preliminaries with a time of 58.12 seconds, just ahead of Kaitlyn Overstreet (Cottonwood Heights, Utah) in 22nd place in 58.27 seconds. Alexis Martinez (Granite Bay, Calif.) finished in 24th place in 58.79 seconds, and Melissa Randolf (Everett, Wash.) placed 28th with a time of 1:00.50. In the “C” final, Rodriguez moved into fifth place on the SU top times list with a mark of 57.36 seconds, followed by Martinez in 58.62 seconds and Overstreet in 58.74 seconds.
Bock qualified for the “B” final in the 100 backstroke after finishing 16th in the preliminaries in 57.98 seconds. Bock tied for sixth in the evening and 14th overall with a time of 58.39 seconds. Also in the 100 backstroke prelims, Paige Treff (Orland, Calif.) posted a time of 1:00.33, just ahead of Overstreet in 1:00.77 and Maddie Dickman (Sacramento, Calif.) in 1:00.85.
Seattle U is in eighth place in the team standings with 180.5 points, already surpassing the point total from the entire meet in each of the previous two years. Northern Arizona holds a commanding lead in the team standings with 478 points heading into the final day of competition.
The WAC Swimming and Diving Championships conclude Saturday, Feb. 28, starting at 10:30 a.m. local time with the preliminaries of the 200 backstroke, 100 freestyle, 200 breaststroke, and 200 butterfly. The finals of those events as well as the 1650 freestyle and 400 freestyle relay will take place Saturday evening beginning at 6 p.m. Central time. Live results are available through a link on the schedule pages for both men’s and women’s swimming on GoSeattleU.com. Live video of the finals session will be streamed online by the WAC Digital Network (www.wacsports.com/watch).