Dec. 30, 2017
Vanderbilt Swimming defeated the Campbell Camels 155-107 Saturday morning in Buies Creek, N.C., winning 10 of 14 races in the final competition of 2017 at the Johnson Aquatic Center.
The Commodores came off the blocks quickly, winning four of the first five events in Vanderbilt’s first competition after a break that lasted more than a month. Head Coach Jeremy Organ was pleased to see how his team responded after a long hiatus.
“It was a good way to start back up after the break,” Organ said. “There was a lot of good racing going on, we’re really happy with where we are.”
Eight different Vandy swimmers won events in the dual, and four swimmers won multiple events. The 200-yard medley relay team continued their hot season as well, winning the first event of the dual to set the tone for Vanderbilt for the rest of the meet.
“[The 200 medley relay team] is a great group of four people,” Organ said. “It’s really the backbone of the team. They really enjoy racing the event.”
Freshman Hannah Hunt, junior Johanna Goldblatt, and senior Breanna Sapienza – all members of the 200 medley relay team – all won other events Saturday in addition to the medley relay. Goldblatt took the 100-yard backstroke, Sapienza won the 100-yard butterfly, and Hunt placed first in the 100 and 200-yard breaststroke. Sophomore Paige Hamilton was also on the winning medley relay team.
Vanderbilt won big in the distance events for the second consecutive meet, as freshman Lara Hernandez-Tome won both the 1000 and 500-yard freestyle.
“We wanted to challenge Lara with these two events, and it ended up being a big day for her,” Organ said. “It was a lot of fun for us to watch her in those events.”
Freshmen Brooke Ellis and Kaley Buchanan won the 200-yard butterfly and 200-yard individual medley, respectively. Senior Madeline Hunt took first in the 200-yard breaststroke as well.
The swim program will now pack their bags and head to their annual training trip to the Bahamas for a week. Coach Organ is a fan of the destination, but stressed the importance of the week of training.
“We want to get there, get situated, and get on with a good week of practice,” Organ said.
