ELSAH, ILL. -- Coming off its hardest week of practice of the season, the Principia College Women's Swimming and Diving team on Saturday hosted Franklin College and the Illinois Institute of Technology for a double dual meet.
The team picked up its second win of the season with a 133-46 victory over IIT, but lost to the women of Franklin College 53-214. The team is now 2-4 on the season.
Freshman Meredith Brooks, freshman Shelby Barner, sophomore Dani Mc Kenzie, and senior Catherine Joyner started the meet off with a time of 4:54.35 in the 400 Medley Relay. Brooks swam the backstroke leg in 1:14.34, her season best. Joyner, the relay's freestyler, had a lifetime best split of her own (1:15.40).
Senior co-captain Joanna Patzwald then swam the 500 Free for the first time this season. She had a great swim and went 6:13.56. It was her lifetime best time in the event by nearly seven seconds.
Freshman Bailey Bischoff swam the 200 Free in a season best time of 2:14.07, beating her previous best by more than seven seconds.
Brooks then bested her 100 Back time from the relay in the individual 100 Back event. She dropped nearly three seconds from earlier in the meet and went 1:11.61, good for second place. The 1:11.61 was also her unshaved lifetime best. Joyner went 1:23.15 in the 100 Back, her season and unshaved lifetime best.
Barner took third place in the 100 Breast with a season best time of 1:20.05. Patzwald followed that up with a third place of her own in the 50 Free (27.72).
On the 1-meter diving board, freshman Annika Erickson and freshman Michala Braun took second and third place, respectively. Erickson's score of 171.05 earned her ninth place on the Principia All Time Top 10 for the event, and was her season best. Braun's score of 116.65 was a season best, as well.
Mc Kenzie took third in the 100 Free with a time of 58.34, her season best. Bischoff then earned another season best -- this time in the 200 Back -- with a time of 2:30.48. Brooks also swam the 200 Back, going an unshaved lifetime best of 2:44.21. Joyner continued her great meet with a lifetime best in the 200 Back (2:56.40). Mc Kenzie took first place in the 100 Fly with a time of 1:04.55, her season best.
On the 3-meter diving board, Erickson again earned a spot (ninth) on Principia's All Time Top 10 list with a score of 187.45. She won the event. Braun had a season best score of 100.50 and took second place in the event.
The 400 Free Relay team of Bischoff, Patzwald, Barner, and Mc Kenzie went 4:02.34. Mc Kenzie, the team's anchor, went 57.26, her lifetime best relay split.
The team is off over Thanksgiving weekend and will travel to Grinnell College in Grinnell, IA, for the Pioneer Classic the following weekend. The Pioneer classic is a two-day meet, starting on Friday, December 6 at 6:00 PM and continuing with two sessions on Saturday, December 7 (10:00 AM, 5:00 PM).
