Great night sees Aces make history
CARBONDALE, Ill. – University of Evansville junior Michaela Kent took top honors in the 100 backstroke event as the Purple Aces women’s swimming and diving team continued at the Missouri Valley Conference Championship.
Coach Rickey Perkins commented on the evening. “It was a great night. The team spirit was just amazing. The swims we had tonight were fantastic; everybody came out, they battled, they fought. They let go of this morning’s swims and just really came back and had a lot of fun. Michaela’s swim was awesome. Everybody came back faster tonight which is great for all the swims we’ve had.â€
Taylor Davidson was the sole Evansville swimmer in the 400 IM; she represented the Aces well clocking in a time of 4:48.38 for 16th place.
The 200 Freestyle, on the other hand held no shortage of Purple Aces. Finals saw Seniors Maja Magnusson and Mackenzie Harris and Freshman Bridget Sheridan in 19th, 20th, and 23rd places respectively.
Next for the Aces was the 100 Butterfly. Freshman Kristen Myers excelled with a time of 56.92 to earn sixth place and her first collegiate spot on the podium. Additionally, Senior Charlotte Lechner, Freshman Madi Jones, and Sophomore Kasey Rein received 19th, 20th, and 23rd places.
The 100 breast stroke couldn’t keep the Aces out of finals tonight as all four representatives qualified for the C-Final. All freshmen, Kayla Aitken took 17th, Amy Smith 21st, Kaylee Gubricky 23rd, and Sylvia McFadden 24th. All improved their times from the morning preliminary round.
The night only improved from there as Junior Michaela Kent, fresh off her fifth place finish in the 50 Freestyle, earned a spot atop the podium as champion of the 100 Backstroke. She went into the morning preliminary round seeded 10th, entered finals in fifth, and ended the run on top. Her time of 55.53 broke the school record set by Alex Howard in 2012. Junior Taylor Davidson also achieved a lifetime best time of 58.09 and took 12th place.
The Aces finished off the night with the 400 Medley Relay. The group of Kent, Amy Smith, Myers, and Mackenzie Harris touched in at 3:55.40, good for sixth place, and a full three seconds faster than their seeded time of 3:58.56.
Saturday will conclude the championship meet with the following events: 200 Backstroke, 100 Freestyle, 200 Breast stroke, 200 Butterfly, 1650 Freestyle, 3-Meter Diving (A-Final), and 400 Freestyle relay. Prelims take place at 10 a.m. with the finals going at 4 p.m.
