WASHINGTON, D.C. — Freshman Emily Albans was the standout performer as the Catholic University women's swimming and diving team made the short trip within D.C. to take on Division I Howard University in a dual meet on Saturday afternoon.
Albans was the only Cardinal to earn two victories as the Cardinals fell to the Bison, touching first in the 50- and 200-yard backstroke events.
She won the backstroke sprint by over a second-and-a-half, flying to the wall in just 27.94. She then put together a comprehensive swim in the 200 back, winning by more than five full seconds with a time of 2:12.57, her third-fastest competitive time in the event this season.
Albans also added second and third-place finishes in her two additional swims, contributing to a runner-up finishing in the 200 medley relay and placing third in the 50 fly with a time of 27.78.
The only other Cardinal win of the afternoon came from Katie Herman, as the three-time Landmark Conference Athlete of the Week outswam three Bison to the wall in the freestyle sprint. The freshman outtouched Michaela Spears by .11 seconds, clocking a time of 24.61.
Albans led off and Herman swam the anchor in the 200 medley relay runner-up effort and were joined in the quartet by Madeline Doucette and Angele Parral.
Parral and fellow freshman Bella Mugno grabbed second and third-places finishes in the 200 IM, as just two hundredths of a second separated the two.
Ava Snyder put together a strong swim in the 200-yard freestyle but was ultimately outreached at the wall and had to settle for a second-place. She clocked her second-fastest time of the season in the event (2:00.58), but fell to Madison Freeland by .56 seconds.
Catholic concludes the regular season with a record of 7-2 and a perfect 4-0 mark in Landmark Conference competition. One of the team's two losses has now come against a Division I opponent.
The Cardinals will now turn their attention to the Landmark Conference Championships which will take place at the Germantown Indoor Swim Center on Feb. 17-19. Catholic will look to avenge last year's close runner-up finish.
