CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - The University of North Dakota women's swimming and diving team defeated Northern Iowa 185-114 and fell to Kansas 117-176 today as the Panthers hosted the Fighting Sioux and the Jayhawks.
"I'm happy with our performance overall," head coach Steve Parsons said. "We executed our races better, and our starts and turns went smoother than last week. We would have loved to beat both teams, but Kansas has a very strong program and they proved it today."
UND's 200 medley relay 'A' team of sophomore Kelsey Richels (Wahpeton, N.D.), sophomore Alyssa Bailey (Spearfish, S.D.), junior Kara Fisher (Fergus Falls, Minn.), and freshman Erin Grabanski (Grand Forks, N.D.) placed second touching at 1:40.94. The 'B' team of sophomore Sami Puk (Cedar Rapids, Iowa), senior Caitlin Conci (Craig, Colo.), sophomore Madison Porter (Dickinson, N.D.), and senior Samantha Simon (Barrington, Ill.) placed fourth with a time of 1:41.55.
In the 400 medley relay, UND's 'B' team of Puk, Simon, Bailey, and freshman Alexis Tonsager (Ramsey, Minn.) finished fourth with a time of 4:11.44.
Medon grabbed a trio of second-place finishes, touching at 2:11.84 in the 200 IM, 2:09.15 in the 2:09.15 breast, and 59.79 in the 1000 back. Porter placed second in the 200 fly (2:12.43), third in the 100 fly (1:00.15), and fourth in the 200 free (1:58.77).
"Veronica had another solid meet for us today," Parsons said. "I was very pleased with her 100 back she had one of her best performances in the 200 IM. Madison also had a nice meet. She is continually improving and gaining confidence."
Conci took second in the 100 fly (59.10), and Merwin finished second in the 200 breast (2:31.02) and third in the 100 breast (1:09.16). Lynch finished third in the 500 free (5:12.97) and fourth in the 1,000 free (10:46.01), and Bailey took second in the 50 free (25.10).
UND finished 2-3-4 in the 100 free with Richels in second (54.83), Puk in third (54.94), and Fisher in fourth (55.03).
On the boards, senior Megan Keidel (Bismarck, N.D.) won the 1-meter with a score of 248.00, sophomore Rachael Waldbillig (Lexington, Minn.) placed fourth (228.05), and freshman Alexis Thomsen (Chisago, Minn.) took sixth (194.25).
On the 3-meter, Waldbillig finished second with a score of 241.60, followed by Keidel in third (241.40). Thomsen placed sixth with a score of 201.60.
"Rachael and Megan had yet another solid meet for us," Parsons said. "Megan picked up a nice win on the 1-meter and really showed that senior leadership that we need from her. Both girls dove well for us on the 3-meter as well and finished within just a two tenths of a point from each other. Coach Brian Strom has our divers looking pretty good right now.
The Sioux are back in action on Friday, Oct. 28 when they travel to Brookings, S.D., to take on host South Dakota State and Western Illinois. Events are set to begin at 6 p.m.
- Go Sioux -
