ONU SWIM & DIVE SWEEPS ST. AMBROSE IN HOME DUAL

BOURBONNAIS, Ill. - The Olivet Nazarene University swimming & diving teams welcomed the Fighting Bees of St. Ambrose to the Perry Center for a dual meet Saturday morning. The Tigers men won 119-98 and the women defeated the Bees 134-77.

Women's Meet

The Tigers opened the dual with a 1-2 performance in the 200 medley relay, closing in a photo-finish between the two ONU squads. The top quartet of Katelyn Inman, Megan Schroeder, Ashley Parry, and Mia Points (1:51.14) beat out Paige Howell, Julieta Vega, Taylor King, and Kayla Deubel (1:51.28) by .14 seconds to take the top spot.

ONU swept the podium in four events on the day. In the 200 freestyle, Grace Barnhart took the gold (1:59.80), Inman placed second (2:00.19), and Logan Carley took third (2:01.07). Points (25.45), Schroeder (25.51), and Parry (25.55) went 1-2-3 in the shortest race of the meet, the 50 freestyle. In the 100 freestyle, Allison Pearson touched the wall first (53.77), Halle Briner (56.14) took silver, and Emma Norman placed third (57.21). Lastly, Julieta Vega (1:05.95) went first, Pearson (1:06.70) second, and Schroeder (1:06.92) third in the 100 breaststroke.

Vega and Briner finished split two-thirds of the podium in the 200 IM,  with Vega placing second (2:12.82) and Briner taking third (2:17.02). King added her second silver medal on the day with a runner-up finish in the 100 butterfly at 1:02.20.

Howell and Inman went 1-2 in a close finish in the 100 backstroke at 1:04.03 and 1:01.22, respectively. The top three in that event all finished within .22 seconds of each other. The Tigers followed that performance up with another 1-2 finish in the 500 freestyle, with Barnhart taking the crown at 5:20.07 and Carley finishing runner-up at 5:29.62.

The squad of Pearson, Briner, Carley, and Barnhart came together to win the 800 freestyle relay at 8:12.31 and cement the dual-meet victory over St. Ambrose, 134-77.

Men's Meet

The ONU men started the day with a win in the 200 medley relay, touching the wall at 1:36.70 to edge out the St. Ambrose squad by .13 seconds.

Jack Fries continued his strong season in the sprints with a top finish in the 200 freestyle (1:45.08) and a second-place finish in the 100 freestyle (48.07). Nicholas Klenner joined him on the podium in the 200 free with a 1:46.39 for second place while Porter Hoffman took third in the 100 free at 48.07. Hoffman then secured a second-place finish (21.89) in the quickest race of the day, the 50 freestyle, while Timothy Braun was the champion in the event by .07 seconds at 21.82.

Liam Kuiper was the top performer in two events, the 200 IM and the 100 breaststroke. He touched the wall at 1:58.26 to be the only swimmer in the event to clock in under the two-minute threshold in the 200 IM. Kuiper then placed first in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 59.31, being the only swimmer to time under the one-minute mark. Ryan Harrison placed third in the 200 IM at 2:06.46 while Peter Adams took third in the 100 breaststroke at 1:01.08.

In the lone diving event of the day, the 1-meter dive, Caleb Englert took silver with a score of 159.40 and Joshua Whaley placed third with 99.35 points.

ONU produced another event champion on the day with Klenner taking the top spot in the 100 backstroke at 52.14. Chase Aruskevicius placed third in the event with a time of 55.14. Another champion emerged in Mason Beall, who took the 500 freestyle crown by just .02 seconds in the second-longest race of the day. Demarcus Washington put forth a runner-up performance in the 100 butterfly with a time of 53.17.

Klenner, Braun, Beall, and Fries teamed up to finish up the meet on top, going first in the 800 freestyle relay and securing the dual-meet win over St. Ambrose, 119-98. 

WHAT'S NEXT?

The ONU swim & dive teams will hit the road to take on another dual meet, squaring off against Lewis University in Romeoville, Ill. on Nov. 5.

--ONU—

*Contact: Evan Wild, Sports Information Director, ewwild@olivet.edu