GWU Women's Swimming Defeats Limestone, 120-76, on Thursday Night
January 17, 2014 | Swimming
Gaffney, S.C. - Gardner-Webb opened the night by finishing 1st and 2nd in the 200 medley relay, and five different Runnin' Bulldogs won individual events to secure a 120-76 win at Limestone on Thursday night.
The win over the Saints marked Gardner-Webb's first dual meet win of 2014.
Gardner-Webb got off to an emphatic start, going 1-2 in the 200 medley relay. Kaylee McCallan (27.95), Charity Byrum (30.30), Mary O'Doherty (25.52), and Faith Kempf (24.52) teamed up to finish in 1st place in the event with a time of 1:48.29, helping GWU jump on top early.
April Niccolai (28.40), Sam Shelley (31.13), Christina Clayton (26.83), and Maria Seward (24.72) combined to finish 2nd in 1:51.08.
Limestone got a win in the night's first individual event, the 1,000 free, from Paty Santa Fe, who timed in at 10:39.79 to finish 1st in the event. Gardner-Webb's Taylor Schwartz (11:01.08), Kristen Ellison (11:31.29), and Allie Petersen (11:33.45) took 2nd, 3rd, and 4th in the event to pick up key points.
In the 200 free, Limestone won its second straight event, getting a 1st place time of 1:55.85 from Emily Reh, but GWU went 2-3-4 once again to offset the Saints' event-best swim. Faith Kempf (1:57.80), Jenna Ballinger (2:00.93), and Caroline Andrews (2:02.10) were 2nd, 3rd, and 4th in the event, respectively.
Up by just ten points going into the 50 free, the Runnin' Bulldogs needed and got a big swim, as junior Charlotte, N.C. native Mary O'Doherty raced to a 1st place finish, touching the wall at 24.72. Seward, a freshman from Winston-Salem, N.C., added a 3rd place time of 25.74 in the event to help extend Gardner-Webb's lead.
Gardner-Webb essentially put the meet away in the 400 IM, occupying the 1st, 2nd, and 4th place positions to extend its lead to 29 points. Freshman Adél Kiss won the event with a time of 4:39.62, Niccolai (Naperville, Ill.) prevailed in a tight race for 2nd after finishing at 4:42.52, and CJay Wiley took 4th (4:45.70), as the Runnin' Bulldogs continued to pull away.
GWU used the 100 fly to put the meet out of reach, going 1-2-3 thanks to the trio of Giorgie Graves, O'Doherty, and Singleton. Graves led the way, winning the event with a time of 57.41, while O'Doherty (59.85) and Singleton (1:01.53) finished the job by finishing 2nd and 3rd in the event, respectively.
Ballinger (Lexington, Kent.) and McCallan (Melbourne, Fla.) added individual wins late in the meet. Ballinger placing 1st in the 100 free, out touching Limestone's Brianne Jones by .01 with a time of 55.35, and McCallan led a 1-2 finish with Niccolai (1:01.35) to win the 100 back with a time of 59.33.
In the 500 free, Graves (Riverivew) won her second individual event of the day, pulling away late to place 1st in the event with a time of 5:13.51. Kiss added a 3rd place time of 5:18.64 for GWU in the event.
Gardner-Webb will look to stay on the winning track in a key dual meet this Saturday, January 18 in a meet at CCSA rival Davidson.
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