University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
2018 CCSA Conference Championships
Multiple Records Fall as Bulldogs Complete CCSA Championships
02.17.2018 | Women's Swimming & Diving
ATHENS, Ga. - To conclude the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association (CCSA) Championships on Saturday, the UNC Asheville swim team broke more school records inside the Gabrielson Natatorium.
BULLDOG BITES
Day Four Highlights
UNC Asheville Team Finish
The Bulldogs broke a school record for the most points scored at the CCSA Championships - 663. Last year's 633 was the previous best, but UNC Asheville bested that mark by 30 team points.
Overall, the Bulldogs finished seventh out of nine women's teams.Â
Preliminaries
200 Backstroke Prelims
With five Bulldogs swimming in the 200 backstroke prelims, every swimmer set at least a career best in the round, while Emma Nelson recorded a career-best time in the event.
Stephanie Smith paced UNC Asheville, as the senior posted a 2:03.16. The season-best time earned her a spot into the A Finals. Emily Werth and Alejandra Sanchez Garcia each earned spots in the B Finals. Werth clocked a 2:03.93, while Sanchez Garcia finished within one second behind her teammate (2:04.91).Â
Elizabeth Murray rounded out the times for Asheville. She posted a season best 2:11.16 in the 200 backstroke.
100 Freestyle Prelims
Jessica Woolfe paced the Bulldogs in the 100 free prelims. She finished 30th with a 53.34. Elizabeth Conte followed her with a 54.92, and Katie Brown followed them with a 56.55.Â
Haley Bennison rounded out the times in the event, as she recorded a season best 58.31.
200 Breaststroke Prelims
Morgan Rulevich earned the second A Final berth of the morning for UNC Asheville. The junior clocked a season best 2:18.11, which put her fifth in the preliminary round.Â
Allie Snyder and Carly Emerson (2:27.47) both recorded strong swims, including a career-best 2:25.73 for Snyder. Both Bulldogs earned spots into the C Finals.Â
Despite just missing out on a finals bid, Nelson posted her second career-best time on Saturday. In the 200 breaststroke, she broke her previous career best with a 2:29.10 time.
200 Butterfly Prelims
Continuing to break records at the conference championships, Catherine Allen broke the program record in the 200 butterfly with a 2:02.13. The time broke the previous record by 0.76 seconds, which the sophomore set earlier this season at the Fall Frenzy Invite.
Madison Rogan posted a strong time in the same event, as she earned a B Final bid. The time of 2:04.72 also set a career-best mark for the sophomore.Â
Aleta Jewell was the third Bulldog to record a career-best time in the event, as she posted a 2:12.49, and Madison-Grace Bristow clocked a season best 2:21.93.
Finals
1650 Freestyle Finals
In the longest event of the CCSA Championships (1650 free), the Bulldogs saw yet another school record fall, as Skylar Rogan posted a sub-17 minute race in the event. She recorded a 16:58.56, which bested the previous school record by almost seven seconds.
Three other Bulldogs - Adee Weller, Sydney VandenBerg and Jewell - also had career-best times, as Weller had the second-fastest time for UNC Asheville (17:25.22). VandenBerg posted a 17:48.58, and Jewell clocked a 18:11.11.83.Â
Brittany Thomas also had a really fast swim. The senior swam a season best 18:08.06.
200 Backstroke Finals
As the lone A Final representative for UNC Asheville, Smith swam a 2:04.10, which placed her 8th overall.
Werth and Sanchez Garica each posted career-best swims, as they placed 9th and 11th, respectively. Werth clocked a 2:01.36, and Sanchez Garcia clocked a 2:03.23.
200 Breaststroke Finals
Rulevich posted a season-best 2:16.56, which gave her a top-5 finish on Saturday night. Emerson broke her career-best time with a 2:25.6 8, which placed her 19th overall.Â
200 Butterfly Finals
As the final individual event of the championship meet, Allen finished seventh in the 200 fly. With her time of 2:02.24, she finished seventh for UNC Asheville. Madison Rogan was right behind her teammate, as she posted a 2:03.75 in the B Finals.Â
400 Freestyle Relay
In the final race of the CCSA Championship, the Bulldogs broke their third relay school record. Consisting of Rulevich, Weller, Sanchez Garcia and Skylar Rogan, the foursome recorded a 3:27.85, which placed them sixth overall. The previous school record was 3:50.51.
Quotable
"I could not have been more excited for our results. We re-wrote the entire record book for every individual event, except two. On top of that, we also set three relay records."
"I want to give a big shout out to our upperclassmen. We scored 663 team points, and last year we had 633. The 30-point improvement is due to the team's commitment and work ethic."
"Near the end of the meet, we continued to push hard and break program records. This year our girls were already pumped up, so we didn't have to pump them up and encourage them."
"I love when they are up for challenges, as they are also willing to challenge us as coaches."
- Head Coach Elizabeth Lykins -
Players Mentioned
