GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Emory & Henry College Women's Swimming Team added another event win and another pair of runner-up finishes on Day Three of the 2016 Old Dominion Athletic Conference Championships at the Greensboro Aquatic Center. The Wasps finish second in the league for the third year in a row.
Junior Michaela Nolte (Hillsborough, N.C.) was named the ODAC Swimmer of the Year after winning the 50-yard freestyle, 100-yard breaststroke and 200-yard breaststroke. Nolte achieved NCAA "B" Cuts in both the 100- and 200-breast and will learn in the coming weeks if she has been invited to the NCAA Division III Championship.
In the 1650-yard freestyle, senior Taylor Guardalabene (Charlotte, N.C.) swam an 18:21.07 to finish fifth. Senior Nicole Powell (Apex, N.C.) ended up with a seventh-place finish while sophomore Holly Roth (Albuquerque, N.M.) was ninth and junior Lauren Blakey (Davidson, N.C.) was 16th.
The 200-yard backstroke saw sophomore Marina Moore (Thomasville, Va.) post a time of 2:10.49, good for fifth place while junior Jordan Greenburg (Cordova, Tenn.) and freshman Lauren Belcher (Johnson City, Tenn.) were sixth and eighth, respectively. Senior Sam Brown (Memphis, Tenn.) swam in the consolation finals, finishing 10th.
Junior Jessica Richardson (Vero Beach, Fla.) broke her own school record in the 100-yard freestyle, swimming a :52.45 to finish second. Sophomore Mackenzie Lingle (Roanoke, Va.) was fifth while freshman Adaira Brewer (Raleigh, N.C.) and freshman Madi Holloway (Abingdon, Va.) were 10th and 15th in the event.
In the 200-yard breaststroke, Nolte continued her dominance with a new E&H and ODAC record of 2:20.07. The time was also good for a NCAA "B" Qualifying Standard. Sophomores Brianna Chessock (Winston-Salem, N.C.) and Kelsey Jones (Roanoke, Va.) finished sixth and seventh in the event as well.
Powell put up a time of 2:15.29 in the 200-yard butterfly to finish sixth while freshman Claire Goodrum (Versailles, Ky.).
The final event of the meet was the 400-yard freestyle relay. The team of Nolte, Lingle, Goodrum and Richardson went 3:33.73 which was good for a second-place finish.
PRELIMINARY RECAP
Event 27 – 200-yard Backstroke – E&H has three swimmers in the top eight led by sophomore Marina Moore, who is seeded fourth (2:10.22). Junior Jordan Greenburg and freshman Lauren Belcher have both qualified for tonight's consolation finals.
Event 29 – 100-yard Freestyle – Junior Jessica Richardson is seeded second (:52.99) just .02 off the lead in her attempt to win back-to-back championships in the 100-free. Sophomore Mackenzie Lingle is fourth while freshman Adaira Brewer and freshman Madi Holloway will be in the consolation finals.
Event 31 – 200-yard Breaststroke – Junior Michaela Nolte topped her ODAC record by nearly two seconds with a swim of 2:20.32 to qualify first and also bettered her NCAA "B" cut from earlier this year. Sophomores Kelsey Jones and Brianna Chessock are fifth and sixth in the Championship Final, respectively.
Event 33 – 200-yard Butterfly – Senior Nicole Powell is seeded sixth (2:17.01) with freshman Claire Goodrum in eighth for tonight's final.
Event 35 – 400-yard Freestyle Relay – Emory & Henry has the top time of 3:43.96 going into tonight's final. Brewer, senior Taylor Guardalabene, Jones and Moore put the Wasps in the center of the pool for the final race of the meet.
Event 25 – 1650-yard Freestyle – The 1650, or "the mile" is contested as a timed-finals event. Swimmers are seeded based on their times in the 1000-yard freestyle during the year. The top eight seeds swim in the evening while swimmers seeded ninth or higher swim in the prelims. Powell is currently first in the event with a time of 18:43.40 while sophomore Holly Roth is second with a swim of 19:10.39. Junior Lauren Blakey finished eighth after this morning and will be guaranteed a spot in the top 16. Guardalabene, last year's champion in the event, is seeded seventh going into tonight's final.
---E&H---