Fresno, Calif.----- The second day of the Chick-Fil-A Invite Women's Swimming and Diving Meet proved to be a series of tough battles for the Spartans up against Cal, Fresno State, San Diego State, Washington State, and Air Force.
Swimming & diving head coach Sage Hopkins said, "We have highlighted several things to focus on this week leading into Saturday's meet."
SJSU swimmers finished among the top-10 in three of today's seven events. Violani Auva'a and Taylor Lehr continued to place among the upper rankings, maintaining consistent success from yesterday. They both contributed to the Spartans' eighth place finish in the 400 medley relay, teamed with fellow swimmers Gabby Heng and freshman Angelika Yngson, at 3:55.20.
Heng placed eighth in the 100 freestyle with a time of 52.44. She and Lehr contributed to SJSU's fourth-place raking in the 400 freestyle relay with Antoinette Loya and Katie McIntee. The team's tenacity and chemistry paid off, making this performance their highest-ranked placement in the invitational.
Freshman swimmers also made their debuts. Daria Cocol (a San Jose native), Chloe Limargo (Lynwood, Wash.), Makenna Mathieson (Littleton, Colo.), Shelby Mullendore (Lincoln, Nebr.), Madelyn Sailors (Rochester, Ind.), and Angelika Yngson (Chula Vista, Calif.), all participated in events this weekend.
"We had people step up and race. Our freshmen really stepped up, put their nerves aside, and just raced which as a senior, is really fun to watch," said senior team captain Taylor Lehr.
SJSU was up against very tough teams, yet showed relentless drive, initiative, and steadfast teamwork even in the face of a bus breakdown early in the morning. Moving forward into the season, the Spartans have acquired a wealth of experience performing at a high-level invitational, and are eager to capitalize on learning from this weekend.
"It's always a great experience racing Cal and other teams in our conference so early on," Lehr continued. "I think each one of us gained something from our races that we can work on in practice and get better at throughout the season."
Coach Hopkins, reflecting on the weekend, said, "We had a great two days of swimming. I am impressed by our racing which was both technical and tough."
Chick-Fil-A Invitational women's swimming meet
Fresno State Aquatics Center, Fresno, Calif.
October 6, 2018
Day 2 of 2
Final score: 1. UC Berkeley (Cal), 1250, 2. San Diego State (SDSU), 963, 3. Fresno (FSU), 487, 4.Washington State (WSU), 380, 5. Air Force (AFA), 367, 6. San Jose State (SJSU), 275.
Day 2 Results
400 Medley Relay -
1, Cal, 3:44.36.
San Jose State Finishers — 8, SJSU A (Violani Auva'a, Gabby Heng, Taylor Lehr, Angelika Yngson), 3:55.20 13, SJSU B (Madison Grimes, Chloe Limargo, Gabriela Vieira, Madelyn Sailors), 4:01.43 14, SJSU C, (Makenna Mathieson, Kate Hanf, Kendal Guy, Katie McIntee), x4:01.50 17 SJSU D, ( Shelby Mullendore, Jamie Dodd, Maleah Schmidt, Antoinette Loya), x4:05.94
1650 Freestyle -
1, McKenna Meyer, SDSU, 17:20.42.
200 Backstroke -
1, Ugne Mazutaityte, Fresno, 2:01.07.
San Jose State Finishers — 11, Violani Auva'a, 2:07.09. 14, Gabriela Vieira, 2:08.43. 16, Taylor Lehr, 2:10.08. 17, Makenna Mathieson, 2:10.09. 22, Madison Grimes, 2:12.25. 27, Erin Wayman, 2:14.92
100 Freestyle -
1, Abbey Weitzeil, Cal, 48.78.
San Jose State Finishers — 8, Gabby Heng, 52.44. 14, Antoinette Loya, 53.27. 16, Katie McIntee, 53.33. 21, Makenna Mathieson, 54.39. 24, Kimberly Giggey, 54.49. 25, Shelby Mullendore, 54.84. 31, Madelyn Sailors, 55.08. 32, Kate Hanf, 55.13. 37, Daria Cocol, 55.42. 45, Katrina Slivkoff, 56.59. 52, Jacqueline Nisson, 1:00.25.
200 Breaststroke -
1, Kristina Murphy, SDSU, 2:16.92.
San Jose State Finishers — 19, Angelika Yngson, 2:26.84. 20, Chloe Limargo, 2:27.27. 24, Maleah Schmidt, 2:37.61.
200 Butterfly -
1. Katie McLaughlin, Cal, 1:57.33.
San Jose State Finishers — 16, Jamie Dodd, 2:09.17. 26, Kendal Guy, 2:14.46.
400 Free Relay -
1, Cal, 3:21.30.
San Jose State Finishers — 4, SJSU A (Gabby Heng, Antoinette Loya, Taylor Lehr, Katie McIntee), 3:30.80. 11, SJSU B (Madelyn Sailors, Kendal Guy, Makenna Mathieson, Violani Auva'a), 3:38.24. 15, SJSU C (Daria Cocol, Shelby Mullendore, Kimberlee Giggey, Gabriela Vieira), x3:40.46. 16, SJSU D (Kate Hanf, Madison Grimes, Jamie Dodd, Erin Wayman), x3:40.76.
