GWU Women's Swimming Jumps into 2nd Place on Day Two of the Wingate Fall Frenzy
November 18, 2012 | Swimming
Charlotte, N.C. - Freshman Giorgie Graves won the 100 fly for the third time in her young collegiate career, and the GWU women closed the night on a strong note with a 2nd place finish in the 800 free relay to fuel a vault into 2nd place in the women's team standings.
Gardner-Webb (576) trails 1st place Georgia Southern (594) and leads 3rd place College of Charleston (572.5) in a close race among the three CCSA rival squads.
In the 200 medley relay, GWU placed 3rd behind the performances of Kaylee McCallan, Charity Byrum, Giorgie Graves, and Anna Springer. McCallan (27.53), Byrum (29.48), Graves (25.53), and Springer (24.50) combined to give GWU a season best time of 1:47.04 in the event.
Graves' split time represented the fastest 50 fly time in the event.
Senior Liz Van Halsema (Charlotte, N.C.) took 5th in the 400 I.M. after racing to a season best time of 4:37.79. Fellow senior Michelle Palacio (Charlotte, N.C.) also recorded a top finish for Gardner-Webb in the 400 I.M., scoring a 10th place finish with a season best time of 4:39.30. Sophomore Jessica Robinson (Aiken, S.C.) was 11th, finishing in 4:40.89.
Freshman Kristina Nork and sophomore Kristen Ellison also finaled in the event, finishing 22nd (4:54.08) and 23rd (4:54.23) respectively.
Four GWU swimmer's made the Top 8 in the women's 100 fly. Graves, a freshman from Riverview, Fla., took the top spot in the event, racing to a season best time of 55.59.
Graves' 1st place finish was supplemented by 5th, 7th, and 8th place finishes from Laurenn Singleton, McCallan, and April Niccolai respectively. Singleton (Elkin, N.C.) turned in a season best time of 57.80 in prelims, McCallan finished in a season best 58.53 during prelims, and Niccolai swam a season best 58.46 during prelims of the event.
Faith Kempf and Jenna Ballinger finished 2nd and 3rd in the 200 free respectively. Kempf, a junior from Sterling, Kan., moved up five spots in finals to take 2nd in a season best 1:54.01, and Ballinger, a sophomore from Lexington, Ky., recorded a season best time of 1:53.86 during prelims to take 3rd.
Graves (8th, 1:57.68) and Alaina Mattix (12th, 1:57.51) also scored points for GWU in the event. Graves swam a season best time of 1:53.79 in prelims.
Byrum was 2nd in the 100 breast, finishing just behind 1st place finisher and defending CCSA event champion in Georgia Southern's Kristen Bates (1:04.04) with a time of 1:04.48. Byrum swam a season best time of 1:04.20 during prelims to earn the No. 1 finals seed.
Juniors Samantha Shelley (Wilmington, Del.) and Anna Springer (Snellville, Ga.) were 5th and 8th respectively, recording finals times of 1:06.60 and 1:07.54 in the event respectively. Shelley's finals swim marked a season best, and Springer's prelims time of 1:06.65 was also a season best.
McCallan (Melbourne, Fla.) turned in a personal best time during prelims of the 100 back, turning in a time of 57.96 en route to a 4th place finish. Laurenn Singleton was 6th after a season best prelims time of 58.27, and Niccolai finished 8th after a season best time of 58.76 in prelims.
Freshmen Taylor Schwartz (10th, 58.35) and Susie Ward (16th, 1:00.87) also finaled in turning in season best performances during Saturday's 100 back.
Gardner-Webb closed the night with a 2nd place showing in the 800 relay with a season best time of 7:40.84. Ballinger led off in 1:55.30, Kempf swam the second leg in 1:54.79, Schwartz swam third with a split time of 1:55.13, and Graves anchored in 1:55.62 to help the Gardner-Webb women's team finish strong.
The Runnin' Bulldogs will look to finish strong at the Wingate Fall Frenzy, with competition on day three beginning during tomorrow morning's prelims session and concluding with Sunday evening's finals session.
| Results - Saturday |
