FAYETTEVILLE – The No. 15 University of Arkansas swimming and diving team picked up its fourth dual-meet win of the season by defeating Missouri State 203.5-88.5 in Springfield, Mo., on Saturday. The win was highlighted by a Razorback sweep of the 200-yard freestyle and the 3-meter and 1-meter springboards. The Razorbacks picked up wins in 15 of 16 events.
The win against Missouri State marks a school-record 14th consecutive dual-meet win for Arkansas, breaking the previous record of 13 from 1991-92.
“We came out with the goal of staying positive, focused and aggressive,” head Coach Sean Schimmel said. “We let the work show up for where we are at this point in the season.”
The Razorbacks began the meet with a win in the 200 medley relay. The team of sophomore Anna Mayfield(San Antonio, Texas), junior Nikki Daniels (Wichita, Kan.), junior Susanna White (Forest, Va.), and sophomoreNina Drolc (Velenje, Slovenia) completed the race in 1:43.24.
The Razorbacks swept the 200 freestyle, led by Mayfield in 1:51.01. Sophomore Lauren Jordan (Carmel, Ind.) finished in second place in 1:52.25, and freshman Mary Margaret Soderberg (San Antonio, Texas) took third in 1:56.35.
Senior Kesha Naylor (Saskatchewan, Canada) won the 3-meter with a score of 312.90, a 21.9-point improvement from her first zone qualifying score against Nebraska on Oct. 26. Her score was followed by sophomore Shelby Bartlett (Noblesville, Ind.) in second place with 276.60 and sophomore Hannah Bortnick(Mission Hills, Kan.) in third place with a 260.85.
Naylor led the Razorbacks again in a sweep on the 1-meter boards with a season-high score of 295.72. Bartlett took second place with 273.37 and junior Meghan Clark (Frisco, Texas) came in third with a 254.47.
“Divers were outstanding,” Coach Schimmel said. “They really stepped up today. Kesha (Naylor) did a great job winning both boards. Shelby Bartlett also had a great day. The others are taking major strides. I’m really proud of our divers. They did a great job.”
White contributed to a team-high four Razorback wins. In addition to splits on two winning relays, White’s time of 1:04.79 tied for first place with Missouri State’s Renata Sander in the 100 breaststroke. White also won the 100 freestyle with a time of 51.25.
The Razorbacks continued dominance in distance swimming with wins in the 1,000 and 500 freestyles. Sophomore Rachel Stoehr (Lake Forest, Ill.) touched the wall first in the 1,000 freestyle with a time of 10:19.84. Jordan placed first in the 500 freestyle in 4:56.55 and also won the 100 backstroke with a time of 57.99.
Drolc took first in the 50 freestyle with a time of 24.26. Daniels won the 200 breaststroke in 2:17.92. SophomoreMaddie Monroe (Godfrey, Ill.) won the 100 butterfly in 58.32.
Senior Julia Kucherich (York, Pa.) finished first in the 200 backstroke with a time of 2:05.63, and earned a second event win in the 400 individual medley in 4:27.77.
Arkansas’ relay team of White, Drolc, Monroe and senior Shelby Cox (Little Rock, Ark.) ended the meet by winning the 200 freestyle relay in 1:34.33.
“We’ve got two weeks now to train and get sharp,” Coach Schimmel said. “We’re really looking to set up for February and March, go through our routine and be a better team than we’ve ever been before.”
Arkansas will travel to Columbia, Mo., on Nov. 21 to participate in the Missouri Invitational. The three-day invite will be the team’s last competition of the fall semester.
For more information on Arkansas swimming and diving, follow @RazorbackSwim on Twitter.
Press release courtesy of the University of Arkansas.
The Razorbacks are getting better. Perhaps they will seek out higher competition for their dual meet schedule next year?!