Regular Season Ends Against Southern Illinois

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A senior and a freshman posted NCAA B cut times as Vanderbilt swimming concluded its regular season schedule Saturday with a dual meet against Southern Illinois at the Centennial Sportsplex.

Kailia Utley and Emily Constable each met the NCAA B standard for the first time this season to lead the Commodores, although the Salukis would end up with a 154-108 victory in the match-up. Mercedes Traba and Reagan Mathieson joined Utley in winning individual races at their final home meet, with Madelyn Porter adding a victory for Vandy as well.

“Overall, I was really happy with today, there were a lot of really good races. I think that collectively the ladies stood up did a really good job today, we’re in a good place moving into SECs in a couple of weeks,” head coach Jeremy Organ said. “Those were huge swims for Kailia and Emily, it gives them a lot of confidence being able to do it here at home as get into the postseason; I’m excited for what’s coming next for the two of them. We going to look at tapering down a little bit but getting the intensity up in our training so we can get ready to swim fast at the SEC Championships.”

Postseason competition for Vandy will begin on Feb. 18 when action gets underway at the 2025 SEC Championships in Athens, Georgia.

Meet Highlights
-Vandy began the meet with its A team earning a second-place finish in the 200 medley relay, and it closed the afternoon by coming in second in the 400 free relay.
-Porter and Merritt Zieminick took first and second place, respectively, in the 1,000 free, with Utley and Kate Heintz accomplishing the same feat in the 200 fly later in the day.
-The Dores also got individual victories from Mathieson (100 free) and Traba (500 free), with Utley adding a second win in the 100 fly as well.
-Constable ended up second in both the 100 and 200 breast, and Traba added a second-place finish in the 400 IM.
-Mathieson and Libby Gilbert posted a two-three finish in the 200 free.
-Quinlan Hinerfeld touched the wall third in the 100 back with Gilbert adding a third-place result in the 200 back.

Notes
-Not only did Constable move into second place all-time at Vandy in the 100 breast after recording a 1:01.11 mark, she met the NCAA B cut in the event.
-Utley also achieved the NCAA B standard with a time of 1:56.49 in the 200 fly.
-Porter touched the wall in the 1,000 free in 10:12.76 to move into third place all-time in the event at Vanderbilt while Zieminick stands sixth on the list after finishing the race in 10:17.03; both met the CSCAA National Invitational Championship B standard with their efforts.
-Mathieson (1:49.16) and Gilbert (1:49.89) now rank third and sixth, respectively, on the Commodores’ all-time performer list in the 200 free.
-The latter also moved into ninth place at Vandy in the 200 back with a 2:00.22 time that made the CSCAA NIC B cut as well.
-The 400 free relay team of Karsyn Cook, Megan Ciezczak, Mathieson and Gilbert now stands eighth in the Vandy record book after finishing the race in 3:24.43.
-With a time of 1:40.77 in the opening race of the day, the quartet Aubrey Hull, Constable, Cook and Mathieson moved into 10th place on Vanderbilt’s all-time performer list in the 200 medley relay.
-Utley now leads the team with 20 career individuals victories after sweeping the 100 and 200 fly at a dual meet for the fourth time in the last three seasons.
-It’s the second year in a row that Traba was claimed the 500 free on the Commodores’ Senior Day.
-After touching the wall in 52.13 in the 100 free, Abigail Hite recorded a personal-best mark in the event while Zieminick (5:04.00) later added a personal best in the 500 free also.
-Liv Gooding posted a time of 1:05.06 in the 100 breast, the fastest of her career, while her 4:27.31 mark in the 400 IM not only was a career-low time but it met the CSCAA NIC B cut as also.
-Ryen Bosuro (23.99) matched a career-best mark in the 50 free and Bailey Ratzburg set a career low with a 2:20.52 time in the 200 breast.
-Hannah Weissman had a season-low mark of 56.84 in the 100 back, with Grace Ciaramitaro accomplishing the feat in the 200 back after touching the wall in 2:01.40 and Cook recording a season-best time of 56.08 in the 100 fly.