INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.– University of Southern Indiana Women’s Swimming and Diving finished tenth at the House of Champions hosted by Indiana University Indianapolis Saturday evening. The Screaming Eagles shattered three records over the three-day event in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Each event featured prelims in the morning to qualify for the championship finals, consolation finals, C finals, or D finals in the evening slate, where points were awarded to the teams. The athletes could earn points for their universities in each final, ranging from 45 points at the top of the championship finals to two points at the bottom of D finals.
The team finished with 620 total points, 330 behind ninth-place Butler University and 150 points in front of 11th-place Lewis University. Ball State University took the top spot with a final score of 2995.5, over 870 points ahead of second-place Missouri State University.
USI opened the first day of competition, breaking two records, which contributed to the team’s 175-point day-one performance. Sophomore Emma Gabhart recorded a 2:04.91 200 individual medley time, putting her atop the school record books.
The second broken record for the Eagles came in the 400 medley relay team of Gabhart, freshman Hannah Pryor, sophomore Elizabeth Ketcham, and junior Caiya Cooper, in which they tallied a program-best 3:52.02.
The record-setting performances continued into the second day, as Pryor achieved an exceptional 57.11 time in the 100 backstroke, earning a top-20 slot. The freshman also recorded a top-16 finish in the 200 backstroke, cementing 22 points for the Eagles.
The Eagles had impressive performances throughout the competition. Ketcham tallied a top 12 finish in the 50 backstroke following a 26.50 round. The 200 freestyle relay team, consisting of freshman Audrey Kalvaitis, sophomore Simone Green, Gabhart, and Ketcham, notched a 10th-place finish.
Gabhart earned 26 points for the team with a 4th-place finish in the consolation finals, recording a time of 58.68 in the 100 individual medley. The sophomore also recorded a sixth-place finish in the 200 breaststroke preliminaries, which led to a 7th place finish in the championship final, netting 35 points.
The USI divers also excelled during the competition. Junior Maranda Uttke earned a spot in the one-meter championship final, finishing eighth overall with a 225.55 score. In the three-meter, freshman Lucia Tenny finished with a 214.40 preliminary score, earning 12th.
The Eagles are back in action beginning on December 3 at the Toyota U.S. Open in Austin, Texas, hosted by the University of Texas. The competition will take place over three days, finishing on December 6.
