Four Wins Highlight Day Two At Pittsburgh Invite

November 21, 2015 | Women's Swimming & Diving

By: by Scott Swegan, BGSU Athletic Communications

Live Results
Saturday Final Results

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The second day at the Pittsburgh Invitational was highlighted by four victories for the Bowling Green State University swimming and diving team, as the Falcons narrowed the gap against meet leader University of Pittsburgh heading into the final day of competition. The Falcons took home wins in four of the seven swimming final events on the day. The final day of the Invitational will begin with morning prelims, swum in long course format, at 9:00 am. The afternoon finals will begin at 3:00 pm.

"The team keeps picking up momentum and great times as we finished the second day of this three-day event," head coach Matt Ense said. "Being able to pick up four wins tonight against some strong competition is a huge momentum builder for the program as we continue to get better. To see best times when they are not rested is a testament to how hard they are fighting to get their hand to the wall first."

Victoria Griffin won the 200 free with a finals time of 1:48.99. The time was the best for the Falcons in the event this season and a new career record for Griffin, who trumped her previous best time of 1:49.10 set in the MAC Championships in 2014. Griffin's time was just off a school record in the event, as she just missed the mark by .28 seconds. Two other Falcons qualified for the A flight finals in the 200 free, as Hannah Newman (fifth) and Tara Capouch (seventh) aided the Falcons march toward the top.

In two different events, the Falcons finished first and second on Saturday night. First, Franziska Wohlert finished first in the 400 IM with a time of 4:22.11. True freshman Emily Verbrugge finished second in the event with a finals time of 4:26.19. Senior captain Nicole Hrachook also qualified for the A flight final in the 400 IM, finishing fifth. In the 100 fly, Jordan Bullock (55.79) finished first while Kalinka Mogensen (56.21) touched the wall right after her. Bullock's time was a season-best for the Falcons and just .32 seconds off her career best. Kayla Effinger (fifth) and Maria Galic (eighth) swam in the A flight of the 100 fly, also.

The Falcons final victory of the night came in the 800 freestyle relay, with a winning time of 7:23.26. The relay team consisted of Griffin, Wohlert, Newman and freshman Megan Larson. In the night's other relay, the 200 medley relay which began the night, the Falcons finished 2nd and 3rd. The second-place team, which finished with a season-best time of 1:41.79, was made up of Maya Skorupski, Daniela Carrillo, Kalinka Mogensen and Griffin.

BGSU swimmers turned in impressive performances in the 100 breast and 100 back on Saturday night also, despite getting out-touched at the wall. Carrillo swam a season-best time of 1:02.33 in the 100 breast to finish in second. Kristin Filby (fourth) and Christin Swanepoel (eighth) also competed in the A flight final of the event. In the 100 back, Skorupski finished second with a finals time of 55.19. Skorupski's time marked a career-best in the event and a season-best for the Falcons. She was followed by Elodie Schreiber who finished third in 55.68.

Two Falcons – Hannah Albion (400 IM) and Anna Paccapaniccia (100 breast) – won their respective events in the B flight finals on Saturday night. With their success on Saturday night, BGSU sits comfortably in second place against the tough field following two days of the Pittsburgh Invitational. Pittsburgh of the ACC continues to lead the meet.

TEAM SCORES