Caitlin Romprey Sweeps Backstroke Events at Home Tri-Meet

LITTLE ROCK – The Little Rock swimming & diving team concluded their home slate for the fall semester against Drury and Henderson State this afternoon, besting their in-state opponents but falling to the DII powerhouse Drury. However, in just their third competition of the year, the Trojans came away with nearly 50% best times, showing grit in the thick of the training season.
 
Sophomore backstroke star Caitlin Romprey shone, winning both the 100 backstroke and 200 backstroke in season-best times. She was the only swimmer under 58 seconds in the 100 back, touching the wall at 57.81, over half a second ahead of a pack of Drury foes. In the 200 back, she stopped the clock at 2:04.80, dropping four second from her previous mark this season and finishing approximately two seconds off of her lifetime best time.

RESULTS
 
Relays
The Trojans posted a season-best time in the meet-opening 400 medley, clocking in at 3:54.20. The A squad of Romprey, Lauren Pieniazkiewicz, Jaelle Carlson and Annya Grom turned in a second place finished, as senior Grom anchored with a pool-best 51.12 freestyle leg.
 
The 200 freestyle relay concluded the long afternoon with another season-best time for the Trojans and another silver. The A relay turned in a 1:37.60, besting their swim from the All-Arkansas Invite last month by nearly three tenths. This time, the team was made up of Carlson, Cheryl Poulsen, Aubrey Matthews, and Grom.

Freestyle Highlights
Avery Spencer kicked off the individual events this afternoon with an impressive drop in the 1000, claiming a second-place finish in the process.. The freshman cut nearly 20 seconds from her swim two weeks ago, posting a 10:53.94 and nearly roping in the top finisher. Fellow distance swimmer Clare Sprinkle also shaved off 6 seconds for a season-best 11:13.69.

A trio of Trojans posted season-bests in the 200 free, led by Carlson's 1:56.85. Gabriella O'Neil dropped nearly a second and a half to come in fourth at 1:57.40, while Poulsen clocked in at 1:59.35, good for top six. 

In the sprint events, Grom led the Little Rock ladies, collecting second place in both the 100 free and 50 free. The senior posted a time of 23.86 in the 50 free as one of two swimmers under 24 seconds and also stopped the clock at 52.18 in the 100 free soon after.

Backstroke Highlights
Romprey was joined by classmate Olivia Henderson in the backstroke events, as the fellow sophomore claimed fourth in the 200 back with a time of 2:12.28. She also posted a season-best time of 1:00.41 in the 100 back.

Butterfly Highlights
Carlson led the Trojans in the 100 butterfly, coming in second with a time of 57.80, only hundredths behind the first place finisher. Meanwhile, Fer Moussier turned a pair of season-best times in both fly events. The senior got under the minute mark with a time of 59.88 in the 100 fly for fourth. Earlier in the meet, Moussier took third in the 200 fly, posting a time of 2:12.46 after going out with a quick front half.
 
Breaststroke Highlights
Pieniazkiewicz returned in the 100 breaststroke for the Trojans, not long after splitting a 1:06.93 in the medley relay. With a flat start, the sophomore touched the wall at 1:08.34, finishing fourth. Fellow breaststroke specialists Karina Harr and Lexie Shelton were not far off, coming in at 1:10.51 and 1:10.70, respectively. Shelton was also the top Little Rock finisher in the 200 breaststroke, cruising to a season-best 2:32.17.
 
IM Highlights
Gillian Boggs had a strong swim in the 200 IM today, coming in at 2:15.39, almost four seconds faster than two weeks ago. The sophomore claimed sixth overall, with fellow IMer Duru Sibiki not far behind in 2:16.08.

Up Next
In two weeks, Little Rock will face a handful of conference opponents in their next outing, and first away competition of the season. On October 21 and 22, the squad will travel north to Carbondale to race in the Missouri Valley Conference Showcase, a dual-site invitational featuring all the conference teams. View the full schedule here.


For the latest information on Little Rock Swimming and Diving, make sure to check out LRTrojans.com. You can also find the team on social media at @LittleRockSwim on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

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