LITTLE ROCK – The Little Rock swimming and diving team wrapped up their final meet of the regular season this afternoon at home against Vanderbilt and Arkansas, with several impressive results, including a 100 IM time from Lauren Pieniazkiewciz that ranks in
the Little Rock Top Times list.
"Today was a fun day and this team really stepped it up," said head coach
Amy Burgess. "We started the season working on being comfortable with the uncomfortable, and this group is showing how that has paid off against some SEC competition. The best is yet to come!"
The sprint-heavy meet featured events that are not in the usual NCAA lineup, including the 300 IM and 300 free as well as all four 50s. Each of the 50s were raced in a shootout style, meaning that after the full event, the top two from each team advanced for another race. Finally, the top swimmer from each team would compete one last time to determine the event winner.
Relay Highlights
The Trojans defeated Vanderbilt's top relay in the first event of the day, finishing with a time of 1:46.95 to out-touch the Commodores by nine hundredths of a second. The team of
Caitlin Romprey,
Lauren Pieniazkiewicz,
Jaelle Carlson and
Lauren Gray posted their fastest un-rested time of the season as well as a mark that was nearly three seconds faster than their result in the same relay last weekend.
Little Rock also bested Vanderbilt in the final relay of the day. This time, the group of Gray, Pieniazkiewicz,
Delaney Crowder and Carlson turned in a time of 1:37.91, four tenths faster than the host team thanks to the first two relay legs getting an early lead and the final two ladies holding on.
Freestyle Highlights
Gabriella O'Neil led the Trojans in the both the 300 free and 100 free. The junior posted a time of 54.94 in the 100 free before clocking in at 3:06.96 in the 300 free, followed closely by freshman
Avery Spencer and her time of 3:07.33. It was
Jaelle Carlson that was the top sprinter, posting a time of 24.68 in the 50 free.
Butterfly Highlights
The top Trojan in the 50 fly was again
Jaelle Carlson, tying for sixth place overall with a time of 26.08. Also under the 27-second mark was
Karina Harr, who came in at 26.90. The junior also competed in the 100 fly, going under a minute with a mark of 59.92. Teammate
Fer Moussier was just ahead, touching the wall at 59.25.
Backstroke Highlights
Leading Little Rock in both backstroke events was
Lauren Gray, who finished fourth overall in the 50 with a time of 26.74. She later stopped the clock at 58.95 in the 100, just over a second off her season best time from the rested Kansas Classic midseason meet. Teammate
Caitlin Romprey joined her under one minute, finishing with a time of 59.43.
Breaststroke Highlights
Lauren Pieniazkiewicz touched third overall in the 50 breast, coming in at 30.76, just a bit behind her split from the relay earlier. Meanwhile,
Lexie Shelton posted a time of 1:10.53 in the longer breaststroke race of the day to lead the Trojans.
IM Highlights
The 300 IM and 100 IM, both non-sanctioned events that do not appear at the NCAA Championships, were the individual medley races of the day. The longer of the two saw
Gillian Boggs touch with a time of 3:27.50, tying a Vanderbilt swimmer for fourth, while senior
Ashleigh Green was right behind at 3:27.74.
Lauren Pieniazkiewicz finished fifth for the Trojans in the shorter 100 IM, touching the wall at 59.88 to move into fifth on the Trojan Top Times list.
Up Next
With the regular season concluded, Little Rock will spend the next few weeks tapering and getting prepped for the Missouri Valley Championships, which take place in Iowa City from February 15 through 18.
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.
#LittleRocksTeam
