WEST CHESTER, Pa. -- The 18th-ranked Salisbury University women's swimming team showed plenty of fight against stout competition in its regular season opener, dropping a 160-102 decision to the West Chester Golden Rams, who were ranked 20th in Division II, on Saturday afternoon at the Graham Natatorium.
MEET NOTES
- Rowan O'Donoghue paced the Sea Gulls with four medals, winning the 100-yard freestyle (51.49) and 200 free (1:51.30) while adding a silver in the 500 free (5:02.09). She also anchored the runner-up 400 free relay with a 52.36 split.
- Libby Miyashita captured gold in the 200 butterfly (2:04.36) and added a pair of bronzes in the 100 fly (56.45) and 200 individual medley (2:12.02).
- Lily Griffin won the 100 fly in 56.28 and placed fourth in the 200 fly (2:07.74). She also contributed to two relay medals, swimming the fly leg on the third-place 200 medley relay and posting a 52.84 split on the silver-medal 400 free relay.
- Mackenzie Gula took silver in both breaststroke events, touching second in the 100 breast (1:05.45) and 200 breast (2:25.01). She also placed fifth in the 200 IM (2:13.51) and swam the breaststroke leg of the bronze-medal medley relay.
- Claire Murphy set a new program record to earn silver in the 50 free (24.02) and finished fourth in the 100 free with a personal-best 53.43. She anchored the medley relay's bronze (23.91 split) and posted a 53.33 split on the silver 400 free relay.
- Salisbury took third in the meet-opening 200 medley relay, as Isabelle Salvatore, Gula, Griffin, and Murphy touched in 1:45.56, just 31 hundredths of a second behind second place.
- The Sea Gulls closed the meet with a silver medal in the 400 free relay, as Rachel Rickabaugh, Murphy, Griffin, and O'Donoghue combined for a time of 3:32.28.
- In all, SU collected 18 medals, including four gold, six silver, and eight bronze.
PROGRAM RECORDS
The Sea Gulls hit the road again next Saturday for a New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) meet at league rival Rowan. First events from Glassboro, N.J., are set for 11 a.m.
Salisbury University is a proud member of NCAA Division III with primary membership in the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference, along with affiliate membership in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (football, men's & women's swimming), Coastal Lacrosse Conference (men's lacrosse), State University of New York Athletic Conference (field hockey), and Colonial Women's Golf Conference (women's golf). With over 500 student-athletes in 23 varsity sports, SU is recognized as one of the nation's most competitive intercollegiate athletics programs regardless of division, featuring dedicated coaches and staff that foster excellence on and off the field. The Sea Gulls have won a combined 23 team national championships, 26 individual national championships, and 211 conference championships, and have produced 54 Academic All-Americans.
To Make Tomorrow Yours at Salisbury University, and learn more about Sea Gull Athletics' tradition of excellence, visit SUSeaGulls.com or follow on social media @SUSeaGulls.
