The Seattle University women’s swim team set a school record and a Connolly Complex Pool record as part of five event victories, but Simon Fraser won nine events on its way to a 140.5-119.5 victory Saturday afternoon in the Redhawks’ home finale for 2015-16.
Blaise Wittenauer-Lee (Portland, Ore.) won three individual events, starting with a victory in the 100 breaststroke in 1:03.21, breaking the pool record that had stood for seven years. She won the 200 breaststroke by over five seconds with a time of 2:18.03, and then earned a four-and-a-half second victory in the 200 individual medley with a mark of 2:07.08.
Madi Lydig (Spokane, Wash.) lowered her own school record in the 200 backstroke by almost a full second, cruising to a six-second victory with a time of 2:01.83. Lydig also finished third in the 1000 freestyle in 10:49.89 and anchored the 400 freestyle relay to a second place finish in 3:38.98.
The other Seattle U victory was claimed by Paige Treff (Orland, Calif.) in the 50 freestyle, as she won by over a second with a mark of 24.40 seconds. Treff just missed another individual victory, finishing second in the 100 freestyle by 2/100ths of a second with a time of 53.91 seconds. She also did well in the relays, first anchoring the 200 medley relay with a 50 free split of 23.58 seconds, fastest among the anchor legs, to help the Redhawks finish second in 1:48.43, and then she led off the 400 freestyle relay with a time of 54.09 seconds, helping her team to a third place finish in 3:39.40.
Emma Foster (Clancy, Mont.) finished second in the 1000 freestyle in 10:27.73, just 4/10ths of a second behind the winner from Simon Fraser. Emily Gough (San Clemente, Calif.) was second in the 200 freestyle by just 19/100ths of a second with a time of 1:56.12, while Katie Rottman (Phoenix, Ariz.) finished second in the 100 backstroke in 59.60 seconds, less than a half-second behind the winner.
After finishing third in the 200 butterfly in 2:08.75, Jane Liggett (Portland, Ore.) finished second in the 100 butterfly by just 19/100ths of a second at 58.18 seconds. Liggett also led off the 400 freestyle relay that was anchored by Lydig, posting a 100 freestyle split of 54.63 seconds to assist in the team’s second place finish in the event.
“I am proud of this team. They came out strong, they came out ready to fight, they came out ready to swim, and they came out with the intention of honoring our seniors,” Seattle U head coach Craig Nisgor said. “To have a pool record and a school record set after a week of hard training is pretty exciting. We have some big things ahead of us.”
Before the meet, Stephanie Bayless (Spokane, Wash.), Liggett, and Allie McGavock (Glen Ellyn, Ill.) were recognized in Senior Day ceremonies for their contributions to the Redhawk swim program.
Seattle University (11-6) will now prepare for the Western Athletic Conference Swimming and Diving Championships, to take place Feb. 24-27 at the CRWC Natatorium in Houston, Texas.