Danville, Kentucky – Entering night two of the SAA Conference Championships, the 21st-ranked Tigers continued to build on their momentum, extending their lead to 92 points for a total of 365. The evening featured the 500 freestyle, 200 IM, 1-meter diving, 50 freestyle, and the 200 freestyle relay.
The night opened with the 500 freestyle, where senior Audrey Jacobson (Dallas, Texas / School for the Talent and Gifted) and sophomores Emme Penry (Greenwood Village, Colorado / Regis Jesuit) and Diane Park (Beaverton, Oregon / Mountainside) set the tone early. Jacobson powered to a second-place finish, while Penry delivered an incredible performance in the A final to place fourth in what was a true nail-biter from start to finish. Park competed in the B final and battled to a sixteenth-place finish, fighting hard through the closing stretch.
In the 200 IM, senior captain Neely Burns (Phoenix, Arizona / Thunderbird) claimed gold with an outstanding time of 2:03.98, just one second shy of her own school record. She was joined by first-year Kaitlyn Phan (Austin, Texas / Westlake) in third, senior Erica Peterson (Lantana, Texas / Guyer) in eighth, and first-year Sophia Mandanis (Wichita, Kansas / Andover) in ninth after a strong race against a Centre College competitor.
The final individual swimming event of the night was the 50 freestyle, where junior Amy Benson (Newmarket, New Hampshire / Phillips Exeter Academy) led the Tigers with a second-place finish after a tight sprint to the wall. Junior Julia Carter (Dripping Springs, Texas / Dripping Springs) followed in fifth, clocking a 23.97 to break the 24-second barrier for the first time in her career. Junior Allison Ortiz (Houston, Texas / Stratford) added a sixth-place finish, while first-year Ava Easley (Allen, Texas / Lovejoy) rounded out the A final in seventh.
On the boards, first-year Juliet Hood (Wexford, Pennsylvania / North Allegheny) delivered a dominant performance in the 1-meter diving final, winning the event by nearly fifty points. She was joined by sophomore Charlotte Brod (St. Louis, Missouri / Parkway North) in fifth and fellow first-year Aubrey DeLeon (Corpus Christi, Texas / King) in sixth, adding crucial points to the Tigers' growing lead.
The evening concluded with the 200 freestyle relay, where the 'A' relay of Benson, Easley, Ortiz, and Carter captured another first-place finish with a time of 1:35.21. The 'B' relay of Burns, sophomores Anna Stouffer (St. Louis, Missouri / Clayton) and Sienna Nordquist (Albuquerque, New Mexico / Hope Christian), and senior Jules Wiehrdt (Waco, Texas / Midway) added a ninth-place finish to close out the session.
The Tigers will return to the pool tomorrow with prelims beginning at 10 a.m. and finals at 6 p.m. Events include the 100 butterfly, 400 IM, 200 freestyle, 100 breaststroke, 100 backstroke, and the 400 medley relay. Women's 3-meter diving will take place on Saturday.
