Aces complete opening night at MVC Championship

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Three more days remain in the tournament

 

CARBONDALE, Ill. – Wednesday night saw the opening of the Missouri Valley Conference Championship for the Women’s Swimming and Diving team in Carbondale, Ill.

The Purple Aces currently place sixth with 54 points, only two points behind fifth-place Little Rock. Tied in first place are SIU and Northern Iowa with 72 points.

“I am very proud of the girls on the relays tonight,” Purple Aces head coach Rickey Perkins said.  “We had some fast splits. It’s a good sign for the rest of the weekend. We just need to stay relaxed, have fun, be a team, and compete with our hearts.”

Evansville’s group of Michaela Kent, Amy Smith, Kristen Myers, and Mackenzie Harris took to the pool in the 200 Medley Relay to kick off the championship in Wednesday’s final.  The group swam a time of 1:45.58 to finish in fifth place ahead of Little Rock.

The title went to Northern Iowa with a time of 1:42.37

The second event of the night was the 800 free relay.  Myers was joined by Madi Jones, Jessi Hildebrand, and Bridget Sheridan as the group clocked in a 7:55.36. Evansville took sixth in the event.

A full day of action is set for Thursday with the following events taking place: 500 free, 200 IM, 50 free, 1 meter diving and 200 free relay.  Prelims take place at 11 a.m. with the finals going at 6 p.m.