Oct. 9, 2010
CARBONDALE, Ill. – The Vanderbilt women’s swim team fell to Southern Illinois 127-96 in the 2010-11 season opener at the Dr. Edward J. Shea Natatorium Saturday, despite capturing first and second place victories in the 200-yard IM and the 200-yard butterfly.
“I am very proud of the girls for how well they competed,” Coach Organ said. “The first couple of events we struggled a little but by the end of the meet we were swimming really well. We made some mistakes and we have some things to work on before next weekend.”
All ten Commodore freshmen saw action against the Salukis, with Chloe Ott finishing second in the 200-yard IM in a time of 2:11.47, Alyxandra Vernon placing second in the 200-yard butterfly in a time of 2:14.22 and Melissa Roberts taking second place in the 50-yard freestyle (25.02) and the 100-yard freestyle (54.06).
Margaux Georgiadis began her Vanderbilt career with a third place finish in the 200-yard freestyle in a time of 1:58.22 and a fifth place finish in the 500-yard freestyle. Michelle Williamson placed third in the 200-yard butterfly in a time of 2:14.99 and Ott finished third in the 200-yard breaststroke in a time of 2:24.61.
Michelle Williamson (10:51.43), Gabrielle Ortega (11:16.58) and Sheila Salopek (11:18.51) were the top Vanderbilt finishers in the 1000-yard freestyle, finishing fourth, fifth and sixth in the competition, respectively. Laura Furr placed fourth in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 55.43.
The veterans had a good showing as well, with Captain Laura Dillon taking first in the 200-yard butterfly in a time of 2:11.00 and Jessica Eccher winning the 200-yard IM in a time of 2:09.53. Dillon, the school record-holder in the 200-yard breaststroke, finished fourth against the Salukis with a time of 2:30.29.
Amy Salce placed second in the 200-yard freestyle in a time of 1:56.29, only half a second behind Southern Illinois’ Isabela Castro. Salce also earned a third place finish, as well as the Commodores top time, in the 500-yard freestyle in a time of 5:14.25.
Vanderbilt’s Chelsea Morey finished first in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 2:10.90 while Rose Cornelson finished third with a time of 2:12.49. Sarah Lynch placed third in the 100-yard freestyle in a time of 54.84.
The 400-yard medley relay team of Rose Cornelson, Chloe Ott, Sarah Lynch and Betsey Galenti finished second in a time of 4:01.00. The team of Chelsea Morey, Lura Dillon, Jessica Eccher and Jennifer Molchan took third with a time of 4:02.55.
The meet closed out with the Commodores winning the 400-yard freestyle relay behind Michelle Williamson, Jessica Eccher, Laura Furr and Sarah Lynch.
The Vanderbilt women’s swimming team returns home to the Centennial Sportsplex Friday, Oct. 15 to host Arkansas at 1:00 p.m. CT before hosting South Carolina and Western Kentucky on Saturday at noon.
