COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – The Ursinus College women's swimming team honored seniors Corinne Capodanno and Micaela Lyons before and after today's Centennial Conference meet against Washington College, with the opening ceremony and resulting 164-93 victory providing perfect bookends to a memorable afternoon.
Both senior swimmers played a big role in Ursinus (9-0, 5-0) winning its 37th straight dual meet and 22nd in a row in Centennial Conference action.
Capodanno swam the anchor leg as the 400-yard medley relay team, also featuring freshman Peyten Lyons, sophomore Olivia Tierney, and freshman Clara Baker coasted to victory in 4:01.80 as Ursinus took the top three spots.
Freshman Kathryn Longenecker was runner-up in the 1000-yard freestyle (11:14.87), with junior Allison Emick (11:20.10) and freshman Julia Adams (11:20.60) placing third and fourth, respectively.
Capodanno followed with an individual victory in the 200-yard freestyle, clocking a time of 1:57.12 to touch the wall less than half a second in front of sophomore teammate Sydney Gundersen.
The Bears' pair of Lyons led the way in the 100-yard backstroke, Peyten's time of 1:00.01 good for first place, with Micaela capturing second in 1:03.73; freshman Katherine Madden was third in 1:03.86.
Tierney won the 100-yard breakstroke by edging out Washington College's Jenni Clune, who holds the conference's third-best time in the event. Tierney touched in 1:09.75, with Clune finishing in 1:10.18, while freshman Gabrielle Timuscuk and junior Alexandra Hemp were close behind in third and fourth, respectively.
Sophomore Katherine Porter emerged victorious in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 2:12.86, with junior Katie Pielmeier and sophomore Meggie Leitz rounding out the top three. Baker followed with a victory of her own in the 50-yard freestyle, her mark of 25.44 a full half-second better than the Shorewomen's Katie Gorman. Micaela Lyons took third in 26.28.
Gundersen picked up a win in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 54.35, almost two seconds ahead of the field, and Peyten Lyons' second individual crown came in the 200-yard backstroke, where her clocking of 2:10.40 was nearly seven seconds ahead of Washington College's runner-up. Madden was third in the event.
Tierney added another victory in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:30.25), where Timuscuk was second and Pielmeier third.
Capodanno triumphed in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 5:14.67, just over half a second in front of Julia Portmann; Longenecker placed third. Baker then won the 100-yard butterfly in 58.30, with Porter and Leitz taking second and third, respectively.
Exhibition scoring followed as Ursinus, ranked No. 20 in the latest CSCAA Division III poll, maintained its hold on first place in the league standings.
The Bears put their top billing to the test on Friday, February 5, when they head to Franklin & Marshall for a clash of conference unbeatens.