LORETTO, Pa. – The Saint Francis swimming team fell 154-116 on Saturday against in-state rival Duquesne at the Stokes Natatorium. The Red Flash dropped to 5-7 overall, while the Dukes improved to 6-3.
The Red Flash had a strong start to the meet, placing two relay teams in the top three of the 200-yard Medley Relay. SFU sophomore Katie Lafferty (Bremen, Ind./Bremen), junior Paige McLean (Bolton, Ontario/St. Michael Catholic Secondary), juniorJessie Reilly (Pittsburgh, Pa. /Upper St. Clair) and senior Catherine Rogers (Nokesville, Va./Seton School) combined to claim first place, with a time of 1:47.62.
In third place of the 200-yard Medley Relay was the team of freshman Jessica Crumm (New Hampton, N.Y./Minisink Valley), senior Sara Dieterich (Ronkonkoma, N.Y./Connetquot), sophomoreMary Kish (Glendale, Ariz./Bourgade Catholic) and sophomoreAlicia Tiberino (Potomac, Md./Winston Churchill), with a pace of 1:51.76.
The Red Flash placed second in the 200-yard Freestyle Relay as the team of Kish, Reilly, Rogers and Tiberino combined for a time of 1:40.67.
Saint Francis also took the top two spots in the 400-yard Freestyle Relay, with a time of 3:37.24, by the team of Karell, Lafferty, Reilly and Tiberino, to place first. In second place, freshman Amanda Crnic (Conway, Ark./Conway), freshman Rory O’Dell (Chapel Hill, N.C./Northwood), sophomore Megan Reilly (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair) and sophomore Natalie Tedjasukmana (Anaheim, Calif./Mater Dei), finished with a time of 3:53.42.
However, the Dukes took control of the meet in the individual events.
Karell earned a trio of top three finishes on the day for the Red Flash. She placed second in the 200-yard Butterfly, with a time of 2:15.13. Karell also finished third in the 400-yard IM (4:40.80) and 100-yard Butterfly (1:00.10).
In freestyle, Lafferty claimed second place in both the 100-yard Freestyle (52.78) and 200-yard Freestyle (1:57.12), while Rogers finished second in the 50-yard Freestyle, with a pace of 24.93. Freshman Fallon Nelson (Mount Pleasant, Pa./Mount Pleasant) placed second in the 500 Freestyle, with a time of 5:28.81.
The Nokesville, Va., native, Rogers, also placed second in the 200-yard IM with a time of 2:19.51. Freshman Marisa Daly (Wallingford, Conn./Mark T. Sheehan) finished first in that event, with a time of 2:16.44, while sophomore Kasey Marks (Las Vegas, Nev./Bishop Gorman) placed second, finishing in 2:22.96.
Kish earned a pair of top two finishes. The Glendale, Ariz. Native finished second in the 200-yard Breaststroke, with a time of 2:27.81. Kish also placed second in the 100-yard Breaststroke, with a pace of 1:08.59.
Two freshmen joined Kish in the top three of the 100-yard Breaststroke. Crumm won the event, finishing in 1:07.99, whileAshley Rovder (Johnstown, Pa./Richland) placed third in 1:18.24.
Dieterich finished third in the 100-yard Backstroke, with a time of 1:02.42. She was also SFU’s top competitor in the 200-yard Backstroke, with a pace of 2:14.04.
The Red Flash returns to action on January 16 as it visits Lock Haven for a 1 p.m. meet. SFU returns home on January 30 as it takes on Youngstown State on Senior Day.
Swimming news courtesy of St. Francis Swimming & Diving.