Nov. 18, 2017
Vanderbilt swimming rose through the standings at the Phill Hansel Invitational in Houston, Texas on Friday, finishing the second day of the invitational in sixth place with 398 points. The Dores more than doubled their point total from the previous day after finishing the first day of competition in ninth place on Thursday.
Senior Breanna Sapienza earned a NCAA B-cut time – Vanderbilt’s first B-cut of the season – when she finished second in the “A” final of the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 53.76 seconds. Sapienza beat the B-cut time by nearly a full second.
Selah Peacock also competed in an “A” final for Vanderbilt, finishing 7th in the 400-yard individual medley. Lara Hernandez-Tome took third in the “C” final and Brooke Ellis finished second in the “D” final of the same event.
Hernandez-Time, Ellis, and other members of the Vanderbilt freshmen class put on another collection of good swims Friday, collecting multiple top-three finishes in different events. Hannah Hunt finished third in the “B” final of the 100-yard breaststroke and Lindsay Gordon won the “C” final of the same event.
The freshman class helped back up Sapienza’s great performance in the 100-yard butterfly, as Ellis collected a third-place finish in the “D” final of the 100-yard butterfly, and Kaley Buchanan and Reagan Roob also qualified for different finals. Junior Johanna Goldblatt won the “C” final of the 100 butterfly, capping off Vandy’s great performance in the event.
The Dores had a great showing in the 200-yard freestyle as well, as four swimmers qualified for finals, and Namilla Sanchez took third place in the “C” final of the event. The 100-yard backstroke also saw a multitude of Vandy qualifiers, and Senior Kate Hornaday earned a second-place finish in the “E” final.
The relay team of Goldblatt, Hunt, Sapienza, and Paige Hamilton had another good swim Friday, as they finished third in the 200-yard medley relay.
The Phill Hansel Invitational wraps up competition Saturday with six more events. Vanderbilt then heads home for their final home meet of the season as they take on Marshall on November 29 at 6 p.m. at the Centennial SportsPlex in Nashville.
Saturday’s final heats begin at 5 p.m., and fans can follow along with Saturday’s events at http://www.uhcougars.com/livestats/w-swim/
SATURDAY’S ORDER OF EVENTS:
1650-yard freestyle
200-yard backstroke
100-yard freestyle
200-yard breaststroke
200-yard butterfly
400-yard freestyle relay
