Emory’s men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams finished 2016 off strong at the Miami Invitational in Oxford, (Ohio) as well as at the Savannah College of Art and Design Invitational (SCAD) (Ga.) held Dec.1 through Dec. 3 with a total of 89 times qualifying for nationals. Their momentum carried them through to the new year as they bested Florida Southern College (Fla.) at last week's meet Jan. 7 where both teams advanced 3-0 in their respective seasons.
At the Miami Invitational, both Emory teams took second overall with 785.5 and and 643.5 points, respectively. The men took third at SCAD with 470 points while the women ended in second place with 559 points.
“Both of the invitationals I felt were really strong for us,” Head Coach Jon Howell said. “We had a number of competitive swims and we got out of that meet what we needed to get out of it. It also identifies what we need to work on second semester.”
Day one of the invitational saw 24 qualifying times with three school records and two Division III (DIII) records broken on the men’s side. Senior Christian Baker kicked it off in the 500 freestyle by setting a new pool, school and meet record of 4:21.43. Senior Andrew Wilson followed suit in the 200 individual medley (IM), breaking his own school record as well as the meet record with a time of 1:45.57. Baker and Wilson teamed up with freshman Sage Ono and junior Oliver Smith in the 400 medley relay to set a new DIII record of 3:13.03. On the women’s side, sophomore Fiona Muir scored an impressive first place in the 50 freestyle with a NCAA “B” cut qualifying time of 23.16.
The Eagles’ second day was even more impressive than the first, with the men’s team coming out with 14 qualifying times and two more broken records and the women pulling off 23 qualifying times. Baker, Ono, Smith and Wilson were back at it in the 200 medley relay, setting a new DIII record of 1:26.74, while Wilson set yet another DIII record of 51.14 in the 100 breaststroke. For the women, Muir, senior Marissa Bergh, sophomore Meg Taylor and junior Cindy Cheng placed first in the 800 freestyle relay with a “B” cut time of 7:22.08.
The Eagles dove strong into the final day of the invitational with a collective 28 qualifying times and four additional records. Baker broke his previous school record in the 1650 freestyle with a time of 15:20.57, taking third in the event. Smith achieved first place in the 100 freestyle and broke the previous school record with a time of 44.34. In the 200 breaststroke, Wilson took first with a time of 1:51.15, breaking yet another individual DIII record, his fifth record overall of the meet. Wilson’s momentous performance earned him his second UAA Swimmer of the Week award of the year. The women also closed out the invitational strongly with Cheng leading the day in an impressive first place performance in the 200 backstroke, swimming a time of 1:57.26, setting a new meet and school record.
The Eagles were back Jan. 7 to take on Division II Florida Southern College in Lakeland, Fla.
“The meet was a good way to rehearse some of what we worked on in training in a competitive environment,” Howell said. “We had good results and it was a good way to start out the year.”
The men narrowly beat the Mocs with a final score of 135-127 that included six event victories and four “B” cut times. Wilson won the 100 and 200 breaststrokes with times of 56.20 and 2:03.46, respectively. Smith placed first in the 50 freestyle with a time of 20.69 and went on to compete with Wilson, Ono and junior Cooper Tollen in the 200 medley relay where they emerged victorious with a time of 1:31.65. Sophomore Thomas Gordon pulled off a top finish in the 1000 freestyle with a time of 9:40.99. Smith, sophomore Trey Kolleck, junior Alexander Hardwick and senior Hayes Burdette-Sapp finished the meet with a first place time of 1:24.15 in the 200 free relay.
The women closed out the meet with a score of 173-86 and all but two event victories as well as four more “B” cut times. Cheng was notable with top finishes in both the 200 freestyle (1:52.55) and the 200 backstroke (2:03.24), both “B” cut times. Senior Annelise Kowalsky earned a “B” cut time in the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:22.68 as well as a second place finish. The final qualifying time went to Cheng, Kowalsky, Bergh and senior Marcela Sanchez-Aizcorbe in the 200 medley relay where the foursome took first place with a time of 1:47.74.
The Florida Southern meet wrapped up the Eagles’ pre-spring competitions.
