Nov. 17, 2017
HOUSTON, Texas
The Vanderbilt swim team began the three-day Phill Hansel Invitational Thursday night, and finished the first day of competition in ninth place with 101 points. The Dores competed in three individual events and two relays on the day.
Vanderbilt was lead by three wins from three different swimmers in event finals, including a top-four sweep of the 500-yard freestyle, as Lara Hernandez-Tome, Namilla Sanchez, and Sophie Halper finished first, second, and third, respectively. Summer Brown took fourth in that event to go along with Vanderbilt’s takeover of the podium.
Breanna Sapienza sprinted well, and won the “C” final of the 50-yard freestyle, finishing with a time of 23.48 seconds, shaving off nearly a half second from her preliminary swim. Brenda Cha took first in the “D” final, finishing in 23.88 seconds. Johanna Goldblatt and Paige Hamilton qualified and competed in the “B” finals, while both Madeline Hunt and Kaley Buchanan qualified for and competed in the 50-yard freestyle as well.
The Dores relay teams swam well again, taking fourth in the 400-yard medley relay with a time of 3:44:09. The team of Goldblatt, Hamilton, Hunt, and Sapienza also took fifth in the 200-yard freestyle relay.
Each swimmer in the competition is only allowed to swim in four events over the course of the three days of swimming. The preliminary swims begin at 10 a.m. on Friday, and those who qualify will compete in the finals at 6 p.m.
Fans can follow along with the second day of action at http://www.uhcougars.com/livestats/w-swim/
FRIDAY’S ORDER OF EVENTS:
200-yard Medley Relay
400-yard Individual Medley
100-yard Butterfly
200-yard Freestyle
100-yard Breaststroke
100-yard Backstroke
800-yard Freestyle Relay
