ST. GEORGE, Utah — In day two action at the Western Athletic Conference Women's Swim Championships in St. George, Utah, the underclassmen shined as Seattle U put together solid performance and saw five Redhawks advanced to the evening's finals. Through two days of events, Seattle U is eighth in the overall standings with 87 total points.
Headlining the day's events was sophomore Danika Himes, who swam 2:06.26 in the 200 IM, and earned Second Team All-WAC honors. This is the second time Himes garnered all-conference accolades in this event and is the fourth in her career.
In the B-Final of the 200 IM, freshman Maggie Robben claimed second with a career-best time of 2:07.77. She shed about a second of her previous mark and climbed to seventh on the program's all-time list. Sophomore Tessa Oliver meanwhile swam 2:09.19 in the C-Final, which was was good for fourth. Oliver's time was nearly a second-faster than her prelim time from earlier in the day.
After posting a Seattle U Top 10 performance in the 500 freestyle prelims, freshman Cassie Koester came back evening stronger during the B-Final and cut nearly 1.5 seconds, as she clocked in at 5:05.62. As a result Koester jumped to seventh on the all-time list.
In the 50 freestyle, senior Alison Plamondon swam 24.08 and tied California Baptist's Mia Maspers for first in the C-Final.
In team action, the Redhawks began the evening with an eighth-place in the 200 freestyle relay as the quartet of Plamondon, Marissa Chan, Emilia Culberson and Audrey Dixon combined for a time of 1:38.22.
"I am really pleased with how well they bounced back after yesterday and that we were able to put that behind us," said Redhawks head coach Craig Nisgor. "They weren't themselves but they came in focus and did what they needed to do, and now we got things going in the right direction. They are having fun, being loose and as supporting each other. I think the next two days will be exciting."
Friday will mark day three for the Redhawks, with prelims scheduled for 10 am PT, while finals will follow at 5 pm. The WAC Digital Network will broadcast the morning events, with finals available on ESPN+.
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