DANVILLE, Ky. – The 24th-ranked Tiger women's swimming & diving team held onto their lead through Sessions Two and Three to close out the Colonel Classic meet with a total of 1,063 points, giving the SAA a sneak peek at performances to expect come conference time.

Session Two opened with the 200 medley relay, where the Tigers' 'A' relay of first-year Ava Easley (Allen, Texas / Lovejoy), sophomore Emme Penry (Greenwood Village, Colo. / Regis Jesuit), and juniors Allison Ortiz (Houston, Texas / Stratford) and Julia Carter (Dripping Springs, Texas / Dripping Springs) took first place. They were joined by the 'C' relay of seniors Jules Wiehrdt (Waco, Texas / Midway), Lindsay McKinney (Victoria, Texas / Saint Joseph), and Erin Morie (St. Louis, Mo. / Cor Jesu Academy), along with sophomore Anna Stouffer (St. Louis, Mo. / Clayton) who took eighth place. 

The first individual event of the morning was the 400 IM, where senior captain Neely Burns (Phoenix, Ariz. / Thunderbird) took first place. Morie followed with a fourth-place finish, senior Erica Peterson (Lantana, Texas / Guyer) placed sixth, first-year Addie Domilise (The Woodlands, Texas / The Woodlands) finished seventh, and sophomore Diane Park (Beaverton, Ore. / Mountainside) took eighth while posting a season best by nearly nine seconds.

In the 100 butterfly, Easley and Ortiz finished second and third, respectively, after racing neck and neck with each other and a swimmer from Franklin College throughout the event, narrowly getting out-touched at the finish.

The 200 freestyle came down to the touch in an all-Tiger race, with Carter taking second by 0.44 seconds over junior Amy Benson (Newmarket, N.H. / Phillips Exeter Academy) in third. They were followed closely by Stouffer, senior Audrey Jacobson (Dallas, Texas / School for the Talent and Gifted), and senior Renee Trombley (Fort Collins, Colo. / Fossil Ridge), who finished sixth, seventh, and eighth, respectively.

In the 100 breaststroke, Penry placed fifth and McKinney finished seventh in a closely contested race.

First-year Kaitlyn Phan (Austin, Texas / Westlake) competed in a tight 100 backstroke race, getting out-touched by 0.29 seconds to take second place. She was joined by Wiehrdt, who placed eighth.
To close out the morning session, the Tigers swam the 800 freestyle relay. The 'A' relay of Phan, Burns, Benson, and Carter took first place, while the 'B' relay of sophomore Sienna Nordquist (Albuquerque, N.M. / Hope Christian), Stouffer, Park, and Peterson finished third.

Between Sessions Two and Three, the women's 1-meter diving competition took place. First-year Juliet Hood (Wexford, Pa. / North Allegheny) delivered a standout performance to take first place, followed by sophomore Charlotte Brod (St. Louis, Mo. / Parkway North) in fourth and first-year Andie Torres (San Antonio, Texas / Reagan) in ninth.

The final session began with Jacobson opening the afternoon strong by swimming a season-best time in the 1,650 freestyle, winning the event with a time of 17:55.1, eleven seconds ahead of second place.

The 100 freestyle featured a close finish, with the Tigers placing third through seventh. Easley, Carter, Wiehrdt, Phan, and Benson finished in that order, with just 0.71 seconds separating third through seventh.

In the 200 breaststroke, senior Sid McCullough (Centennial, Colo. / Cherry Creek) had a stellar performance in only their second meet back from abroad, getting ninth place and swimming a season best, dropping nearly 13 seconds from their time at TCU the previous weekend. Burns placed second, followed by McKinney in third and Penry in sixth.

First-year Sophia Mandanis (Wichita, Kan. / Andover) claimed first place in the 200 butterfly, joined by Morie in fourth, Domilise in fifth, and Park in seventh.

To close out the meet, the Lady Tigers finished with the 400 freestyle relay in a race that came down to the final touch. The 'A' relay of Burns, Easley, Benson, and Carter took first place, followed by the 'B' relay of Penry, Mandanis, Wiehrdt, and Jacobson in fourth and the 'C' relay of Park, Morie, Phan, and Peterson in eighth. A standout performance also came from senior McKinney on the leadoff leg of the 'D' relay, as she swam a sub-minute 100 freestyle for the first time in her career, adding another accolade to her senior season.

COACH SPEAK
"The women put together another long day with a lot of grit," revealed Head Coach Cathleen Pruden. "In so many events wer were faster than last weekend, and gained some confidence as move closer to SAAs. We have a long list of details to dial in on for the next month, but I'm excited to see where this goes."

NEXT UP
The Tigers will travel to Georgetown for a highly anticipated rivalry meet against Southwestern, a matchup that always brings added intensity and high-stakes racing.