SALISBURY, Md. - The Catholic University women's swimming & diving team continued its strong start to the season Saturday afternoon with a 194.5-58 win over Salisbury.
The Cardinals set the tone from the start, taking first and second in the 200-meter medley relay. Morgan James, Aubrey McDonough, Rachael Zarlinski, and Angela Castano took first with a time of 2:10.24.
The strong open to the meet continued when Bridget Roach, Kallie Farley, and Kathryn Degnan swept the top three spots in the 800-meter freestyle. In total, the women's team took first, second, and third in five different events to rack up points for their second meet win.
The third and fourth events for the women's team resulted in sweeps as well, as the Cardinals took a commanding lead that lasted. Molly Donnellan, Colleen McDonald, and Elizabeth Spernal went one, two, three in the 200-meter freestyle. Megan Leibfreid, Kelly Smith, and Emily Earley took the finished top three in the 50-meter backstroke.
Senior Emily Messina swam for the top spot in the 200-butterfly for a second meet in a row with a time of 2:42.49.
Multiple swimmers made an impact in more than just one race. James added a solo win in the 50-meter freestyle (28.44), Leibfried continued her strong collegiate start with a 100-meter win with a 1:04.76 time, and McDonough took first in the 100-meter breaststroke (1:23.11). Roach adds to the list of freshman off to an impressive start this year, as she took the win in the 200-meter individual medley (2:41.74).
The fourth sweep came in the 400-meter freestyle as Valerie Sander (4:53.50), Caroline Beal (4:59.19), and Kassi Grumski (5:12.53) swam the three top times for sixteen points. Emily Tighe, Zarlinski, and Pippa Rogers rounded out the top three for a sweep in the 100-meter butterfly.
The Sea Gulls and Cardinals finished with identical times in the meet's final event, the 400-meter freestyle relay. Beal, Cagney Boyle, Farley, and Smith swam a 4:24.25 time to match Salisbury, earning both teams 7.5 points.
The team is back in action for a Landmark meet on the road against Marywood on Friday, October 26 at 6 p.m.
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