Feb. 18, 2016
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Day three of the SEC Swimming and Diving Championships was a big day for the Vanderbilt swim team, as the squad enjoyed its first individual finals performance of the meet.
Having finished sixth in the seventh heat of the 100 fly, Breanna Sapienza qualified for fly final tying for 21st place overall in prelims at a time of 53.81.
Having earned the Commodore’s first final swim of the week, the entire squad rallied around the Medford, Ore. native, cheering and screaming at the top of their lungs as she dove off the blocks in lane two.
The “C” final was an incredibly competitive heat, with only .15 separating the fastest and slowest prelim times. The Vandy sophomore, who set the Vanderbilt 100 fly record earlier this season, touched in at 54.22 in Thursday night’s final swim.
“Bre had a great race this morning that put her in a situation to come back and swim again tonight,” said head coach Jeremy Organ. “That’s a very positive step and a big step especially because last year we were just outside of qualifying for that event (100 Fly). Obviously, we would have liked to have done a better job tonight, but I think this experience is definitely going to help her out next year.”
Earlier Thursday morning during preliminary swims, Vanderbilt student-athletes collectively swam to eight season best times.
Two additional Commodores made their SEC debuts, as Erin Primdahl and Kacie Dunham both swam in heat one of the 100 fly. Primdahl, a sophomore out of Arlington Heights, Ill. took third in the heat and set a personal record in the event, finishing at a time of 57.07.
Other notable swims include, Summer Brown’s fifth place finish in the fourth heat of the 200 freestyle, touching in at a season best time of 1:49.79.
“We have a lot of events tomorrow and a lot of swims. There re several opportunities for people to get a second swim in at finals, but we’ve got to be ready to get things rolling bright and early.”
The 200 fly, 100 back and 100 breaststroke are all on the agenda tomorrow, with prelims beginning at 10:00 am CT. Friday night finals begin at 6:00 pm, and will also showcase the 400 medley relay.
