Nov. 21, 2008
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The Vanderbilt swimming and diving team started the weekend on a positive note as it set four season-high times in day one of the Hilltopper Invitational on Friday in Bowling Green, Ky.
Sophomore Leigh-Ann Axt won her first title of the weekend as she posted a time of 5:02.71 to claim the 500-yard freestyle crown. Axt cut over six seconds off her previous season-high time, which she set in the preliminaries earlier in the day.
Fellow sophomore Jennifer Molchan finished fourth out of 18 swimmers in the 50-yard freestyle final after posting a season-best time of 24.63. It was the first time that Molchan has swam the 50-yard freestyle in a competition dual this season.
Teammates Kelly Obranowicz and Allie Voss finished in seventh and eighth place after recording personal-best times of 24.97 and 25.18, respectively. Freshman Zoe Cooper-Surma followed the Commodore suit with a season-high time of her own in the 50 freestyle, (25.30, finishing in 10th place.
Laura Dillon recorded a fourth-place finish after swimming a team and season-high time of 2:10.30 in the 200-yard IM. Dillon’s time tops her previous-high mark by six seconds, which she set against Centre and Rhodes College on Oct. 11.
The 200-yard freestyle relay team of Axt, Voss, Obranowicz and Molchan recorded a top-three finish after swimming to a season-best 1:39.43. Hours later the Commodore 400-yard medley relay team of Alexandra Jennings, Obranowicz, Voss and Molchan set a season-high time of 3:58.86, finishing third out of 10 teams.
Day two of The Hilltopper Invitational started Saturday at 9 a.m. in the Raymond B. Preston Center.
