Nov. 4, 2016
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Vanderbilt swim team returned home Friday night to take on in-state rival Tennessee in front of a great crowd at Centennial Sportsplex. The Commodores put together an impressive showing against the No. 11 ranked Volunteers, finding the podium numerous times in many close races but ultimately were defeated 148-113.
The highlights from Friday night’s duel meet were those five individual wins by the Commodores in some of the most exciting races of the evening.
“I thought the girls did a fantastic job tonight,” said head coach Jeremy Organ. “They all competed hard and put up some great results which is a testament to the work they have been putting in practice leading up to this meet. I also wanted to say thanks to the fans tonight. They packed the stands and cheered us on all night and they were fantastic.”
The second event of the meet, the 1000-yard freestyle, brought one of the most exciting finishes of the night when freshman Selah Peacock finished in first by .01 seconds (10:12.85) over Tennessee swimmer Spence Atkins. It was the second victory of Peacock’s young career and she just missed on another victory in the 500-yard freestyle. Peacock was edged out at the wall by .01 seconds (5:00.08) by UT swimmer Brianna Leverenz. Both times for Peacock were season-best finishes.
The Commodores picked up their second win of the evening in the 100-yard backstroke when sophomore Johanna Goldblatt placed first with a season-best time of 56.93. Goldblatt had one other podium finish Friday night when she was opening leg of the 200-yard medley relay team that finished in second with a time of 1:44.57.
Freshman Breinne Thorne gave the Commodores their third win of the night and the first win of her collegiate career in the 200-yard backstroke (2:04.64). Thorne also placed third in the 200-yard medley (1:45.62) relay to begin the meet.
Fellow freshman Paige Hamilton had a very impressive meet, as she was one of three Commodores to earn podium finishes in all four events. She earned runner-up finishes in the 200-yard medley relay (1:44.57) and the 50-yard freestyle (24.07). Hamilton placed third in the 100-yard freestyle (52.08) and the 100-yard IM (59.24).
Breanna Sapienza and Kathryn Coughlin were the other two Commodores to finish on the podium in all four events Friday night. Sapienza finished first in the 100-yard butterfly (55.44), second in the 200-yard medley relay (1:44.57) and 200-yard freestyle relay (1:36.48), and third in the 50-yard freestyle (24.14). Coughlin finished second in the 200-yard medley relay (1:44.57), the 100-yard breaststroke (1:04.78), and the 200-yard breaststroke (2:26.06) while adding a third place finish in the 200-yard freestyle relay (1:40.05).
Junior Kara Lucenti, the school’s recorder holder in the 200-yard breaststroke, placed first in that event against the Volunteers with a season-best time of 2:19.76. Lucenti hit the podium two more times with third place finishes in the 200-yard medley relay (1:45.62) and the 100-yard breaststroke (1:04.98).
Senior Kayla Moran picked up three podium finishes against the Volunteers. She finished second in the 200-yard freestyle relay (1:36.48), and third in the 200-yard medley relay (1:45.62) and the 100-yard butterfly (56.40). Madeline Hunt earned two podium finishes in both relay events. Hunt finished second in the 200-yard freestyle relay (1:36.48) and third in the 200-yard medley relay (1:45.62).
The Commodores will have two weeks off before they are back in the pool again. The `Dores will travel to Texas on Nov. 18 for the Houston Fall Invitational.
“Really looking forward to the Houston Fall Invitational in a couple weeks,” stated Jeremy Organ. “The girls have been getting better and better each week and we hope to continue that trend when we head down to Houston in two weeks.”
