BEREA, Ohio – The Wilmington College women's swimming team opened up its 2019-20 season with a narrow 104-99 loss at Baldwin Wallace University on Saturday afternoon.
The Fightin' Quakers had two individuals claim three event wins in Margaret Hover and Macki Leon. Hover, traditionally a distance freestyler, won the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 57.07 seconds and the 200-yard freestyle (2:08.01) by beating the competition by over seven seconds. Leon won the 100-yard backstroke (1:04.81) by over four seconds and the 100-yard IM by touching the pad in 1:04.75.
The two juniors also teamed up with Maryn Herring and Hannah Davis to win the 200-yard freestyle relay, defeating the Baldwin Wallace team by over eight seconds. Fynn Roberts was the other Quaker to claim an individual event win, doing so in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time 1:13.72.
Wilmington had several individuals claim runner-up honors including Davis in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 26.78 seconds. Herring turned in a time of 1:06.87 in the 100-yard butterfly while Ashley Carlson finished the 100-yard backstroke in 1:09.44. Finally, Alyssa Harper finished the 500-yard freestyle in 5:56.88.
"Margaret Hover has always done a great job for us sprinting in the past, and she stepped up and did the same today with three great races," Head Women's Swimming Coach Trip Breen said. "Fynn Roberts, Alyssa Harper and Ashley Carlson all did well in close races. It's fun to watch the freshmen come in and swim with some confidence. My thanks to the upperclassmen for creating a great environment to help our team get ready for today's meet."
Wilmington returns to action on Friday evening for its annual night dual meet with Ohio Northern University. The first event, from the WC Natatorium, is scheduled for 6 p.m