NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Vanderbilt women’s swim team opened up its season by coming up short to SEC foe Alabama, 146-105, Saturday at the Centennial Sportsplex.
“Overall, a really good first meet of the year for everybody. There are a lot of things we have to work on, but overall we performed really well,” said head coach Jeremy Organ. “I think there were a lot of good races and a lot of really good things we can take forward going into next week.”
The Dores started strong in the opening 200-yard medley relay with Vanderbilt A-relay — Abby Burke, Alina Jones, Tonner DeBeer and Allison Bauer — notching a podium finish for the Dores by touching the wall third (1:45.85).
Dominating in the 1,000-yard freestyle, freshman Alix Roy claimed second by touching in 10:24.26. The win marked Roy’s first as a Commodore. The freshman continued to have a strong meet by picking up another second-place finish in the 500-yard freestyle (5:06.17) to close out her first collegiate outing.
Fellow freshman Kristen Nutter also tabbed a second-place finish in her collegiate debut, racing to a 2:06.85 in the 200-yard butterfly.
“For the freshmen’s first meet coming out of the gate, I thought they really did well. Alabama is a very good and deep team, so I thought that everybody rose to the occasion and did a great job setting the tone for the rest of the season,” said Organ.
In the 100-yard backstroke, Tonner DeBeer earned an eager start to her sophomore campaign by clocking a 55.52 to claim second. DeBeer continued by touching fourth in the 100-yard butterfly (57.04).
Junior Lauren Bergmann set the tone for her season by claiming third in the 200-yard backstroke (2:06.82).
Closing out the season opener, sophomore Lizzy Colwell placed second in the 200-yard individual medley by marking a 2:05.58. Maintaining a successful first meet, Colwell also tabbed a second-place finish in the 100 breast (1:04.25).
The Commodores will be back in action on Oct. 12 by competing in the Grizzlie Relays in Oakland, Michigan.
Stay updated with the Dores as they prepare by following @VandySwimming on Twitter and Instagram.
