SEATTLE — In spite of the final tally of Saturday's season finale, the Seattle U women's swim team put together a solid performance en route to recording one of its best outings in recent memory against conference foe, Idaho. The Redhawks fell, 150-112, but won five individual events outright.
"Overall I thought we came together unbelievably as a team," said Seattle U head coach Craig Nisgor following the meet. "Everyone had a strong race. At the end day the difference was a couple of touches. That said, again, I thought we had some outstanding performances and every one took care of business. I'm really happy with our mindset and how we raced across the board."
Bryn Lasher (2:08.70) led the charge in the 200 butterfly as the Redhawks swept the event with Sherlyn Devadason (2:09.15) and Tessa Oliver (2:11.13) following in order.
Allison Plamondon then bested the field as she won the 50 freestyle (23.93), before earning second in the 100 freestyle (53.07) as she was two-tenths of a second behind the lead pace.
In the 200 backstroke, Alexa Hoeper posted a blazing time of 2:02.96, nearly 6.5-seconds better than next best finisher, for the program's second-best career time. She then logged a time of 5:15.22 in the 500 freestyle, edging out teammate Jayna Van Stone (5:15.87), for her second first-place victory of the afternoon.
Tessa Oliver also earned a first-place win after clocking a time of 2:09.85 in the 200 IM. Competing in the same race, Isabella Guadiamos earned a third-place tally with a time of 2:14.68.
Michaela Day earned second-place points in the 1000 freestyle (10:59.70) as did Van Stone and Hoeper in their respective events. Van Stone in the 200 freestyle (1:55.95), Hoeper in the 100 backstroke (59.64).
Caitlin Caruso (1:09.09) and Darian Himes (1:11.91) went second and third respectively in the 100 breaststroke. Caruso also picked up third-place in the 200 breaststroke (2:29.29).
Seattle U relays nabbed a pair of second-place finishes on the day. In the 200 medley, the quartet of Plamondon, Guadiamos, Lasher and Van Stone logged a collective time of 1:48.76, a mere six-tenths off the first-place pace. Then in the 400 freestyle, the team of Van Stone, Julia Gorman, Plamondon and Marissa Chan pinned a time of 3:35.71 to close the day.
With the regular season schedule done, the Redhawks now turn their attention to the Western Athletic Conference Championships, held Feb. 26-29 at the CRWC Natatorium in Houston, Texas. For more information regarding the WAC Swimming & Diving Championships, visit wacsports.com.
"We still have to clean a few things up before we go to conference, but I'm really looking forward to seeing what they'll do in Houston," said Nisgor.