LITTLE ROCK – The Little Rock swimming & diving team kicked off their dual meet schedule in a double-session lineup today, sweeping the relays yet falling to the visiting North Florida Ospreys 171-144. The Trojans also won four individual events, including an impressive 1-2-3 finish in the 100 freestyle.
The meet also marked the first time Little Rock raced in the 200 oddstroke events this season, along with the 400 IM and the 1000, to set the bar for the year. However, out of the events that the Trojans swam last weekend, the Trojans posted several new season-best times throughout the meet.
RESULTS
Relays
The Trojans opened the long day of competition with a sizeable victory in the 400 medley. The A relay team of
Lauren Gray,
Lauren Pieniazkiewicz,
Jaelle Carlson, and
Annya Grom stopped the clock at 3:58.51, two seconds ahead of the top North Florida team. Carlson's leg helped the squad pull ahead, her 56.89 split the fly fastest in the pool.
Closing the first session was the 200 free relay, this time the group of Carlson,
Aubry Matthews,
Cheryl Poulsen, and Grom taking the win with a time of 1:38.33. Poulsen's 24.23 was the quickest in the race.
The 200 medley kicked off the afternoon session of the meet, as Little Rock cut off three seconds from their seed from last week to post a time of 1:48.03. The A relay was made up of the same four that teamed up in the 400 medley: Gray, Pieniazkiewicz, Carlson, and Grom, with Gray taking off as the only backstroker under 28 seconds to put the Trojans ahead early.
Little Rock completed the relay sweep at the end of the afternoon, finishing first by nearly two seconds with a time of 3:34.07, once again taking off two seconds from just six days ago. Every swimmer split a 53, with Carlson's lead-off 53.13 the best mark for the Trojans.
Freestyle Highlights
The 100 free saw a strong trio of Trojans get out in front early and hold on for a podium sweep in the highlight event of the meet. Grom got her hand on the wall first, touching at 51.20 to drop over half a second from last week. Carlson took second with a time of 52.93, while Poulsen came in at 54.25 to beat out the top North Florida swimmer by a little over a tenth of a second.
Poulsen claimed the 50 free, cruising to a 24.70 for a half-second drop from last weekend, followed by Pieniazkiewicz's 25.28 for fourth place.
200 freestyle specialist
Gabriella O'Neil shaved off nearly half a second in her 200 free from the last meet, taking third in 1:58.70, while
Fernanda Gamez scored points for the Trojans with a 2:03.64.
Avery Spencer and
Clare Sprinkle took on the 1000 for the first time this season, finishing with respectable times of 11:10.91 and 11:19.48. Sprinkle returned in the shorter distance race, the 500, dropping over 5 seconds from her time last weekend to finish with a 5:30.07. She was joined by classmate O'Neil, who took third with a team-leading 5:20.37.
Backstroke Highlights
The Trojans had a strong showing in the backstroke events, as Romprey doubled up for big points in her signature event. The sophomore won the 200 back in 2:08.83 and took silver in the 100 with a time of 59.31, taking off over half a second from last weekend in the sprint.
Grom strayed outside her usual lineup to win the 100 back, stopping the clock at 58.37 to win the event.
Olivia Henderson also had a solid swim for third in the 200 back, finishing third with a time of 2:11.47.
Butterfly Highlights
Spencer added the 200 butterfly to her lineup, coming into the wall at 2:12.01 for third in the event. In the sprint 100 fly, Carlson added a first-place finish, stopping the clock at 57.58 as the first Trojan under 58 this season.
Olivia Maddux came into the wall third, touching at 59.48, while
Fer Moussier nearly broke a minute at 1:00.09, swimming nearly two seconds faster than last weekend.
Breaststroke Highlights
Karina Harr doubled up on the breaststroke events, coming in at 2:28.66 for third in the 200 breaststroke before touching the wall at 1:09.95 for fourth in the 100. She was joined by Pieniazkiewicz in the sprint, who took third in 1:08.66 with a one-second time drop.
IM Highlights
Duru Sibik led the Trojans in both individual medleys, posting a 4:48.02 in the 400 IM and out-touching a North Florida swimmer by exactly one one-hundredth of a second thanks to the freshman's quick short axis strokes. Not too far behind in the long event was
Gillian Boggs, also breaking the 4:50-mark with a time of 4:49.94. The pair finished fourth and fifth in the 200 IM, touching the wall at 2:15.69 and 2:19.17, respectively.
Up Next
Little Rock will have the next two weeks to recuperate and get ready for a tri-meet against Henderson State and Drury, two formidable Division II teams. The Friday, October 7th tri-meet will begin at 2:00 p.m. and wrap up the Trojan home schedule for the fall semester.
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
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