Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
Northwestern TYR Invitational
Relays Shine in Day One of TYR Invitational
November 16, 2012 | Women's Swimming & Diving
Evanston, Ill. - The Bowling Green State University swim team got out to a strong start Friday at the Northwestern TYR Invitational, winning the 200 freestyle relay and 400 medley relay en route to a third-place standing after day one of competition.
MEET RESULTS (DAY ONE)
LIVE RESULTS
Tough early-season contests and back-to-back away meets earlier this month paid dividends for the Falcons, as several swimmers set season- and career-best times in the finals. Head coach Petra Martin was pleased with her team's early performances in Evanston.
"Things went really well and we're in strong spirits," she said. "It's good to see so many people swim faster [in the finals] than in the morning. We're still learning a lot, but we're very happy with the strong start of the meet and look forward to two more days."
The Falcons were victorious in their first race of the evening, with a team of Brittany Szekely, Emily Bennet, Kayla Effinger and Alexis Kain out-touching Northwestern in the 200 freestyle relay, 1:33.70-1:33.72. Then, in the final race, a 400 medley team of Alexa Harris, Kain, Szekely and Bennet crushed the Falcons' previous season best of 3:52.96, finishing in 3:44.96 - more than three seconds ahead of the second-place team from Illinois (3:47.99). In both relays, Bowling Green also boasted the fastest "B" teams.
Bowling Green's relay success was complemented by strong performances in the individual events as well, as four Falcons came away with top-three finishes in the championship finals. Scheps (2:05.06) and Alexa Harris (2:05.12) both set season highs to finish second and third in the 200 IM final, with Scheps posting the sixth-best time in school history. In just four meets as a Falcon, it was Scheps's second time reaching the record books, as she also hit a top-ten time in the 200 freestyle in the season opener. Sophomore Stephanie Boyle added her name to BGSU history as well, swimming a career-best 2:06.82 in the 200 IM prelims - the eighth-best time by a BGSU swimmer. In the final, Boyle finished seventh with a mark of 2:08.58.
Bennet and Szekely split second place in the final of the 50 freestyle, with Szekely hitting a career-best time of 23.33 - the fourth-fastest finish in school history. Both Bennet and Szekely put up faster times than in the morning prelims, where they qualified in first and second place. In the consolation final, freshman Effinger came on strong with a season-best time of 24.03, while Kain also set her season best (24.33) in the bonus final.
Emily Waller, who qualified first to the final in the 500 freestyle, finished sixth with a time of 5:03.05. Teammate Erica Nieminen touched in 5:07.42 to finish eighth.
At the end of day one, the Falcons' point total of 190 put them in third place behind Big Ten opponents Illinois (300) and Northwestern (268). Competition in Evanston will resume Saturday with races in the 200 medley relay, 400 IM, 100 butterfly, 200 freestyle, 100 breaststroke, 100 backstroke and 800 freestyle relay.
Preliminary races begin at 9 a.m. CT with finals taking place at 5 p.m. CT. For live results from the TYR Invitational, click here.
