Swimmers in second at Hilltopper Invite

Nov. 21, 2009

Results | Team Scores

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The Vanderbilt swimming team tallied 243.5 points and currently sits in second place after six swimming events at the first day of the Hilltopper Invitational. Western Kentucky holds a comfortable lead in the team standings as Vanderbilt leads Marshall by four points to sit in second heading into Saturday’s competition.

The Commodores started the meet off on the right track when VU’s 200-yard freestyle relay team of Sarah Lynch, Zoe Cooper-Surma, Allie Voss, Jennifer Molchan clocked a team and season-high 1:40.03, good for third place. Vanderbilt’s relay team of Anna Fargo, Chelsea Morey, Rose Cornelson and Elizabeth Galenti also posted a season best time Friday, swimming a 1:40.58 to place fifth.

The freshman duo of Amy Salce and Erika Deardorf finished first and second in the 500-yard freestyle after clocking a 5:02.06 and 5:03.71 respectively. Salce and Deardorf have emerged as the teams top distance freestylers through the first four meets of the fall season.

One event later, freshman Jessica Eccher added 23 more points to VU’s team total with a runner-up 2:09.28 in the 200-yard individual medley. Eccher’s time was four-seconds off her previous season high. Laura Dillon and Morey were the second and third Commodores to finish in the 200 yard IM as they came in sixth and seventh place. Morey clocked a 2:09.47 in the finals while Dillon swam a 2:11.47.

Molchan once again led Vanderbilt in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 25.35 to finish in sixth place. Zoe Cooper-Surma placed eighth with a 25.18 while Sarah Lynch placed 10th with a 25.21. Voss and Morey came in 13th and and 14th while Rose Cornelson came in 19th.

VU’s 400-yard medley relay team of Morey, Lynch, Eccher and Molchan came in third place with a season-high time of 3:58.26 while Cornelson, Voss, Dillon and Cooper-Surma finished one spot back in fourth with a 3:59.03.

Team Standings Through Friday (11/20/09)
1.Western Kentucky 471 points
2. Vanderbilt 243.5 points
3. Marshall 239.5 points
4. University of the Cumberlands 106
5. Centre College 86