Both teams to face Salukis on Saturday
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Fresh off of victories last weekend, the Purple Aces swimming and diving teams will complete the regular season on Saturday with a trip to Carbondale, Ill. to face Southern Illinois.
Set for a 10 a.m. start, the meet will feature events that will be just a bit shorter than usual with conference championships right around the corner.
Last weekend, the men’s team earned wins over Ball State and Valparaiso while the women completed their home slate versus the Crusaders with a 184-74 win.
In the final home meet, Michaela Kent had a stellar day for UE. She took top honors in the 50 free race with a time of 24.36 to finish ahead of teammate Abby Smith. Kent picked up another victory in the 100 free as her time of 53.70 was over a second ahead of teammates Mackenzie Harris and Kristen Myers.
Kent also helped the Aces to a pair of relay victories. Kent, Smith and Harris joined up with Charlotte Lechner to win the 200 medley relay in 1:51.50, over two seconds ahead of second place. Smith, Harris and Kent joined Madi Jones in the 200 free relay, winning my nearly five seconds with their effort of 1:39.75.
Lechner also had a nice day of her own, posting a 1:01.29 in the 100 fly to edge out teammate Kasey Rein. She also picked up two more victories. In the 50 fly, her 28.49 was almost a second ahead of the competition while her time of 2:15.11 was over six seconds ahead of Valparaiso in the 200 IM.
Freshman Amy Smith brought home a pair of victories for the Purple Aces. In the 50 breaststroke, her 32.72 edged out Valpo by 0.36 seconds while her time of 1:10.73 in the 100 breaststroke helped her edge out the competition.
Madi Jones picked up a win over her on in the 200 free. Her 1:59.59 was over four seconds ahead of Valparaiso. Taylor Davidson also picked up a win, taking top honors in the 100 backstroke, posting a 1:01.84 while Kristen Myers led a trifecta for UE as they swept the top three spots in the 50 back.
The men had a stellar day of their own. Several Aces picked up victories, beginning with the 200 medley relay. Ethan O’Rourke, Everett Plocek, Matt Duke and Matt Childress won by over three seconds with their time of 1:34.99. In the 200 free relay, O’Rourke, Duke and Childress teamed up with Everett Plocek to win by almost three seconds, finishing with a time of 1:26.49.
O’Rourke picked up a nice win in the 50 backstroke. His 24.34 was 1.36 ahead of second-place Reid Mobley. He also grabbed the win in the 100 back as his 52.00 was 3.01 ahead of the rest. Childress came home victorious in the 50 free, running a quick 22.19.
Dan O’Brien came home with a pair of victories on Saturday. In the 50 fly, he won with his 23.39 while he took top honors in the 100 fly, finishing in 52.01. Three others picked up wins on Saturday, including Plocke. He swam a 48.49 in the 100 free. Troy Burger won the 200 IM in 2:01.76 while Jared Sutphin posted a 4:58.90 to defeat teammate Andrew Cotton.
In diving, Courtney Coverdale took the win in both the 1 and 3-meter dives. Her score in the 1m was a 277.87 while her 3-meter final was a 245.70. Miguel Marcano won the 1-meter men’s dive with his effort of 234.97 while Cory Barnes won the 3-meter dive with a 268.65.
