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| Alison Hsu |
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| Tyler Hartman |
The College of Wooster swimming and diving teams commenced 2017's competitive slate after emerging from their annual winter training trip in Florida with a split decision against the University of Mount Union on Friday evening, as the men fell 118-116 while the women prevailed 138-99 at Alliance, Ohio.
On the women's side, sophomore Emma Fikse put in a three-win effort, highlighted by top individual times in the 200 freestyle (1:59.44) and 100 freestyle (55.06). Junior Maggie Layde, who won the 100 butterfly with a pace of 1:01.54, made it a top-two Wooster finish in the 100 freestyle, coming in behind Fikse at 2:02.81 for second-place.
Continuing Wooster's heavy success in the freestyle events was senior Jamie Hibbs, who hit the wall at 26.19 in the 50-yard race to claim top honors. Hibbs, Fikse, Layde and senior Lissy de la Chapelle teamed up in the 200 freestyle relay, finishing with a first-place time of 1:44.11.
First-year Alison Hsu continued her impressive debut season with a first-place finish in the 100 individual medley, hitting the wall at 1:04.90, while sophomore diver Morgan Day posted a meet-best 11-dive score of 345.2 in the one-meter diving event.
The men's meet featured a photo finish with the 200 freestyle relay consisting of Garrett Layde, Cameron Gelwicks, Avery Wilson and Tyler Hartman teaming up for a winning time of 1:30.27 to give Wooster a chance for the win. However, Mount Union's Nick Hoffman, Will Turnbull, Mike Jeromin, and Cole Ellsworth held off Wooster's Aaron Brown, Ric Reynolds, Max Koch, and Eli Samuelson by two-hundreths of a second to pick up the crucial four points awarded to the second-place relay.
Individually, it was a freestyle-loaded performance for Wooster, with four of the Scots' five victories coming in the stroke. In the 200-yard race, sophomore Ryan Campbell took home first-place (1:47.21), while Brown put in a winning clip in the 50 freestyle, hitting the wall at 22.46, just four hundredths of a second ahead of teammate Griffin Campbell (22.50). Gelwicks rounded out the freestyle load for the Scots with a winning time of 48.97 in the 100-yard race.
In diving, senior Aaron Salzman won the one-meter diving event with an 11-dive score of 407.2.
The Scots return to action Saturday, Jan. 14 at Ohio Wesleyan University at 1 p.m.