BETHANY, W.Va. – Two meets in two days after a long winter break was not enough to keep the Franciscan University Swimming and Diving team from a strong showing at Bethany College. The Lady Barons beat West Virginia University Tech 162-46 but lost to Bethany College 150-119.
Gearing up, the girls knew it was going to be a hard meet, swum in long format with 16 events rather than that traditional 13 and with longer races. Despite these difficulties, the Lady Barons pulled through and finished well.
Head coach Becky Recznik said freshman Nicole Marshall and junior Maria Giuliani swam the best race of the night in the 50 Free. Marshall and Giuliani, both top swimmers on the team placed first and second, their times only .01 seconds apart, (26.41, 26.42). Giuliani also swam her personal best by almost a full second.
"Marshall and Giuliani push each other a lot in practices," Recznik said. "We've been working a lot on finishes in the past few weeks and Nicole finished just a little better than Maria."
Giuliani also placed first in the 200 Free with a time of 2:07.08 and dropped almost a full second off of her 100 Free, for a time of 57.13, also good for first place. Recznik said that she has been impressed with the Giuliani's dedication and work ethic this season, something that has amplified her natural talent.
"She's always trying to improve. She has continued to drop her times, and has been training exceptionally hard in the past two weeks," Recznik said. "She's seeing her payoff in her swims."
Recznik also said the strong practice competition between Marshall and Giuliani has led to the duo's recent success.
Finishing strong in the distance events was freshman Mary Martin, swimming the longest race of the day, the 1650 Free for the first time this season. Martin swam what Recznik said was a fantastic time, coming in third overall with a time of 24:24.99
In the diving pool, Kelly Rankin cleaned up, placing first in both the one and three meter dives with a score of 165.75 and 192.60 respectively.
Looking forward, Recznik said that her team will focus on the upcoming AMCC championships. The girls will spend more time honing their individual talents and skills so they can compete to the best of their ability come championship time. Overall, Recznik says she is happy with the day's results.
"This meet gave me an idea of times for some of the girls so we can lock down on events for championships," Recznik said. "Going forward, I have a good idea of who's going to be swimming what events. It allows us to narrow the playing field and lets the girls focus on their specific races for championships."
The Lady Barons next race is at home against Chatham University at 5:00pm on January, 20 at Big Red High School for Senior Night.
