Women's Swimming and Diving drops 223-73 decision at John Carroll
By Caleb Scott
ADA — The Ohio Northern women's swimming and diving team fell to John Carroll 223-73 Saturday afternoon at the William H. Johnson Natatorium.
The Polar Bears fall to 1-1 overall and 1-1 in the Ohio Athletic Conference, while the Blue Streaks move to 1-1, 1-0.
"Today was a great testament to keeping the end in mind," said head coach Peggy Ewald. "We knew going into today's meet that we'd have a big challenge of back-to-back meets with a short turn around time. Doing so prepares us for the end of the season championships. Little wins can lead to big things.....little failures can lead to growth and big things.....as the season continues to press on, we will learn which side of this loss we are on.
"The women's team was greatly outnumbered and that aspect was quite difficult to adjust strategy. We will need to continue developing strength in numbers to realize more opportunities. We swam as well as we could today. I am proud of their approach and attitudes."
Freshman Lauren Halle (Chandler, Ariz./Hamilton) led ONU in the pool as she recorded one first place finish and two second place finishes.
Sophomore Kierra Watson (Brownsburg, Ind./Brownsburg) also added a first place finish and three third place finishes for the Polar Bears.
In the first event of the day, Watson, junior Sydney Veon (Riverside, Ill./Brookfield), freshman Kyley Stuart (Ada/Ada) and senior Molly Wheeler (Sylvania/Northview) finished third in the 200 medley relay in 1:57.27.
Watson would win the 200 back in 2:19.92, and finish third in the 100 back in 1:04.75.
The sophomore also finished third in the 100 fly in 1:05.50.
Halle helped Northern to its first victory of the day as she won the 200 fly in 2:16.16.
In the 200 IM, Halle would finish second in 2:20.47 before she finished second in the 500 free in 5:32.35.
Veon and junior Hailee Sautter (Mansfield/Lexington) would also post top-3 finishes for Northern as Veon finished second in the 100 breast in 1:11.28 and Sautter took third in the 200 fre in 2:08.30.
In the diving portion of the meet, freshman Elizabeth Sartschev (Parma/Normandy) finished second in the 1-meter diving with 152.02 points and took third in the 3-meter diving with 113.85 points.
"The women's team was greatly outnumbered and that aspect was quite difficult to adjust to strategically. We will need to continue developing strength in numbers to realize more opportunities. We swam as well as we could today. I am proud of their approach and attitudes," said Ewald.
The Polar Bears will return to the pool Nov. 4-5 as they travel to Calvin (Mich.) to compete in the Calvin (Mich.) Invitational.