Women's Swimming: WVU defeats Marshall
December 17, 2005 05:32 PM | General
December 17, 2005
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - The West Virginia University women's swimming and diving team defeated Marshall on Saturday, Dec. 17, by a score of 159-135 in Huntington, W.Va.
"They way the team swam today was very good," head coach Sergio Lopez said. "I'm very happy and they had some great times. They've been doing a lot of training and it's paid off as they've been swimming close to their career-best times."
Freshmen Lindsey Largo and Taylor Stallings won two events each. Largo, the Sarasota, Fla., native won the 1000 free in a time of 10:23.79 before taking the 500 free in 5:07.57. Senior Ashley Bissett claimed second place in the 500 free.
Stallings took first in the 100 back with a time of 57.89 as well as winning the 200 back in 2:04.78. Sophomore Bonnie Sutton placed second in the 100 back, with senior Julia Warnken taking second in the 200 back.
Freshman Natalie Lautzenheiser was also solid for the Mountaineers, winning the 200 fly in 2:06.54 before taking second in the 100 fly in 58.69. Freshman Rachel Fedyk took first in the 50 free in 24.19.
In a close 100 free race, West Virginia took the top two spots with sophomore Erin Tudor winning in 54.24 and Fedyk right behind to grab second with a time of 54.27.
The Mountaineers closed out the victory with a win in the 200 free relay. Stallings, Tudor, sophomore Elyse Fisher and Fedyk combined for the winning time of 1:37.14, more than three seconds ahead of the next team.
In diving action, sophomore Erica Pfeiffer placed second in both the 1 and 3 meter, with freshman Caitlin Coco taking third in each. Pfeiffer's solid diving now qualifies her for the BIG EAST championships.
Lopez was impressed with how the team swam, despite being without four of their fastest swimmers. Sophomore Tina Gabrillo, freshman Isabel Perez and sophomore Maritza Peredes are all competing in their home countries nationals, being Croatia, Spain, and Mexico, respectively. Junior Megan Carlson suffered a small injury to her heel during practice on Friday, forcing her to withdraw from the meet.
The Mountaineers travel to Spain for training over the holiday break, leaving Dec. 26 and returning Jan. 5, 2006, before taking on rival Pitt on Jan. 7 at the WVU Natatorium.
