Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Southern Illinois University
MVC Women's Championships
MVC Championships: Day Three Finals
02/19/2016 | 12:00:00 | Swimming & Diving
By Elizabeth Robinson
SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Friday night's finals at the MVC Swimming and Diving Championships continued to bring stiff competition and neck-and-neck races as Missouri State and Southern Illinois continue to lead the pack. Following Day Three of the meet, Missouri State leads with 534 points, while Southern Illinois follows at 496.5.
The Salukis are more than 40 points ahead of where they were last year following Day Three, and are much closer to first place. Last year SIU trailed Missouri State by nearly 100 points heading into the final day of competition. This year, Southern only trails by 37.5 points.
"We are exactly where we felt like we would be," SIU head coach Rick Walker said. "We have really closed the gap from last year, and we think we have a very strong day tomorrow. Our days just get better. We get better as we go."
After coming into Friday's finals with a three-point lead, a disqualification for the Salukis in the night's first event put SIU behind Missouri State by 50 points. Five top-three finishes for the Salukis in the remainder of the night's events, however, allowed SIU to narrow the margin to as few as 17 points mid-way through the night.
"The points go up and down. One event is theirs and one event is ours," Walker said. "We know right where we're supposed to be and if we keep that in mind and don't lose sight of what we're doing, then we're going to be just fine because we're prepared to do this."
SIU's top finish on Friday came in the 200-yard freestyle that saw four Salukis -- Kelsie Walker, Bryn Handley, Helena Amorim and Lauren Stockton -- compete in the A Final. Sophomore Kelsie Walker put up a good fight, coming in at 1:48.72 for the Salukis' best finish this season and a second place rank. Walker missed MSU's Dora Kiss, this year's MVC champion, by only three-tenths of a second.
Sophomore Bryn Handley finished the race in third at 1:50.83, while Amorim and Stockton came in at sixth and seventh. Freshman Jordan Ries added seven points for the Saluksi with a 10th place finish overall.
Freshman Emma Brazeau and junior Sarah James each came in with third place finishes in the 100-yard butterfly and the 100-yard backstroke, respectively. Brazeau entered the 100-yard butterfly as the top seed after finishing prelims in 56.41. Her 56.30 finish in the finals was less than a tenth of a second out of second place, still putting her in the event's top-three. Sarah James' race was even closer, as she and Missouri State's Sydney Zupan tied for third at 55.69 each.
Several other Salukis contributed to SIU's efforts on Friday night, including Liane Tatigian, Riley Schroedter and Jess Peck who finished sixth, 10th and 11th in the 100-yard breaststroke, respectively. Katy Ovington and McKenna Avery combined for 20 points with their eighth and ninth-place finishes in the 100-yard backstroke, while Chandler Ott and Kristina Ksarjian combined for 29 points at fourth and fifth place in the 100-yard butterfly. Abby Kresal and Audrey Snyder each competed Friday night as well, Kresal finishing 12th in the 400 IM and Snyder in 16th in the 100 butterfly.
Friday night concluded with the 400-yard medley relay where the Salukis finished in third place overall. Sarah James started the Salukis with a 56.19 100-yard backstroke, her fastest of the season. Liane Tatigian followed with breaststroke and Emma Brazeau with butterfly before Bryn Handley swam the anchor leg in 50.51 for a 3:47.77 overall finish for the Salukis. SIU's time ranks third all-time in program history.
"Today was something we were prepared for and tomorrow's a new day," Walker said. "This championship is coming and we're just trying to figure out how to win. What a joy this trip has been and continues to be, but this team's day is coming. I think and I hope it's this weekend."
Tomorrow, senior Kaixuan 'Sherry' Zhang will look to defend her title in the three-meter dives after earning the No. 1 seed in this morning's preliminary event. Rachel Williams enters as the No. 2 seed. The final day of competition will include the 1650 freestyle, 200 backstroke, 100 freestyle, 200 breaststroke, 200 butterfly and will conclude with the 400 freestyle relay. Prelims begin at 10 a.m. with the last finals session of the championships at 4 p.m.
Event results will be posted on SIU's Championship Central page in real-time, along with photo galleries and complete results at the conclusion of the day. Follow along with @SIU_SwimDive on Twitter for updates throughout the weekend.
Players Mentioned
