Nov. 22, 2008
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The Vanderbilt swimming team picked up where they left off after day one as eight Commodores swam to season-high times at day two of the Hilltopper Invitational in Bowling Green, Ky. Two of VU’s relay teams also set fall 2008 highs.
Vanderbilt started the morning off with a sixth-place finish in the 200-yard medley relay as the team of Alexandra Jennings, Kelly Obranowicz, Allie Voss and Zoe Cooper-Surma posted a season-high time of 1:52.43.
Freshman Elizabeth Brunk won her respected heat in the 400-yard individual medley by hitting the finish line at 4:43.91. Brunk’s time was nearly 10 seconds faster than her previous-high, in which she set last weekend at the Phil Hansel Duals. Brunk was not done, however. The Raleigh, N.C., native took top honors in her respected heat by swimming a 1:07.08 in the 100-yard breaststroke, nearly three seconds faster than her previous personal best.
One event later, Obranowicz shattered her previous-high mark in the 100-yard butterfly as she posted a 56.92, finishing second out-of-18 swimmers. Obranowicz’s mark tops her previous high of 58.36, in which she set last weekend in Houston, Texas. Laura Dillon joined Obranowicz in the top-half of the 100-butterfly field by posting a personal best 59.07, finishing in seventh. Later in the day, Dillon posted an impressive 1:05.78 to finish second overall in the 100-yard breaststroke. Dillon’s time topped her previous-high mark by three seconds. Voss stayed toe-to-toe with Dillon in the 100 breaststroke as she finished two spots back with a time of 1:07.67.
Leigh-Ann Axt and Jennifer Molchan recorded season-high times of their own in the 200-yard freestyle with times of 1:54.52 and 1:56.63, to finish in top-eight of the finals. Axt’s time topped her previous fall 2008 time by nearly six seconds while Molchan trimmed over a second off. Sophomore Anna Fargo time of 2:01.94 Saturday, topped her previous season-high mark by nearly two seconds.
Jennings and Molchan also set season-high times in the 100-yard backstroke with times of 1:02.77 and 1:01.88.
The Commodore team of Chao, Axt, Fargo and Molchan closed out the night with a runner-up finish in the 800-yard freestyle relay with 2008 season-high time of 7:50.03.
Coach Organ’s squad will wrap-up the 2008 fall season tomorrow at the final day of the Hilltopper Invitational.
