WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Catholic University women's swimming & diving team competed well with Division I opponent Howard on Saturday afternoon in a 159-137 dual meet loss at the DuFour Center Pool.
The Cardinals opened the meet with a second-place finish in the 200-medley relay as Megan Leibfreid, Madeline Doucette, Angela Castano, and Emma Gould teamed up for a time of 1:53.83 to earn four points.
The Cards then took spots two through four in the 1000-freestyle distance event. Kelly Smith touched second at 11:26.05, followed by teammates Claire Laux (11:36.07) and Mary Pilkington (11:49.36). Kate Von Heeringen then took second in the 200-freestyle at 2:04.95.
Caroline Beal earned the team's first event win in the 100-backstroke with her winning time of 1:00.89.
Doucette picked up four points in second place at 1:11.36 in the 100-breaststroke. Kayla Ruffo (2:26.33) and Emily Tighe (2:27.83) then took second and third in the 200-butterfly.
Alexa Hipp and Leibfreid followed suit with second and third place finishes in the 50-freestyle sprint at 25.72 and 25.82, respectively, for a total of seven points. Gould, Megan Lowell, and Castano then went second, third, and fourth in the 100-free.
The Cardinals swept the top three spots for a total of 16 points in the 200-backstroke as Beal continued her strong afternoon with a victory at 2:13.16. Teammates Hipp and Bridget Roach trailed at 2:15.74 and 2:24.96.
Soon after, the Cards continued applying pressure with another one-two-three sweep in the 500-freestyle. Von Heeringen touched first at 5:31.79, followed by Smith (5:40.14) and Colleen McDonald (5:41.70).
Tighe took second in the 100-butterfly with her time of 1:04.64 for four points.
Catholic closed the meet with a second-place finish in the 200-freestyle relay as Castano, Leibfreid, Hipp, and Gould combined for a time of 1:44.37.
On the boards, senior Mackenzie Earley led the way with a second-place finish in the 3-meter event and third in the 1-meter. Earley earned 151.10 on 1-meter and 153.00 on 3-meter. Teammate Colleen O'Callaghan took third in the 3-meter with a score of 138.50.
Up next for the Cardinals is the final meet of the year before Landmark Conference Championships, a dual meet against local foe Marymount (Va.). Catholic hosts the Saints on Saturday, February 1 at 2 p.m. at the DuFour Center.
