Last Saturday, Lawrence’s swim team traveled to UW -Whitewater for the UW- Whitewater Double Dual against Whitewater and Lake Forest College. As one of the Vikings’ final few meets before the conference championships, the meet was an important test of where the team stacks up against their competition.
The meet saw a number of exemplary performances by Lawrence athletes in a number of events. On the women’s side, Lawrence saw two champions crowned. Freshman Erin Lengel won the 50 yard freestyle with a time of 25.85 seconds, and senior Eryn Blagg won the 100 yard freestyle in 57.48 seconds. To add to her 50 free win, Lengel took second place in the 100 yard butterfly. Strong showings by juniors Lizzy Garcia-Creighton and Emmi Zheng bolstered the women’s team score. Garcia took third in the 100 yard freestyle, while Zheng came home with third place in both the 100 and 200 yard breaststroke.
The men’s team also had its share of strong showings. Freshman Anton Hutchingson led the pack with a victory in the 1,000 yard freestyle with a time of 10:20.1. Freshman Charlie Phillips also had a strong showing in the mixed 500 yard freestyle, taking fourth place overall in a time of 5:14.65.
Despite having strong individual performances, the Vikings did not fare well in the team competition. On the women’s side, the Vikings fell against Whitewater with a score of 157-64. Against Lake Forest the Lady Vikes fared better, but were still bested to the tune of 116-102. The Lawrence men were beaten 164-41 by UW-Whitewater and 159-60 by Lake Forest.
This Saturday, the Wisconsin Private College Championships in Kenosha, Wisc. offer one chance for the Vikings to improve on their current placement. After this final showing, the Vikings travel to Grinnell for the 2018 Midwest Conference Championships.
