SALEM, Va. – The Southern Virginia University women's swim team competed at Roanoke College over the weekend, coming up just short against the talented Maroons side.
Riley Mortensen was the first Knight swimmer to earn points for the team after finishing third in the longest event of the day, the 1650 freestyle.
In the next event, the 200 free,
Jamie Horne was neck and neck with Bailey Gallagher from Roanoke through the entire race. Both would reach the wall with a 2:05.53 time to tie for second place.
Southern Virginia got its first race victory in the 100 yard backstroke with
Kelsie Drennen beating out her opponent by just over a tenth of a second.
In the following event, the 100 breaststroke,
Rachel Draper's 1:15.33 time was good for third place and three points for the team.
Drennen would earn her second triumph of the day in the 200 fly, winning by over 12 seconds.
Cece Hooley would finish in the top three in the next and shortest race of the meet, the 50 free, after a 26.47 time.
Hooley, who had little time to prepare for the next race, and Horne finished second and third in the 100 freestyle.
The following event, the 200 backstroke, saw Drennen earn her third victory in the meet to earn another nine points for the Knights.
Jamie Horne had another solid showing in the 100 fly that saw her finish second place.
Southern Virginia would break another school record in the final event of the day, the 400 free relay, featuring
Kelsie Drennen,
Riley Mortensen, Cece Hooley and
Jamie Horne. The team finished with a 3:46.85 time, good for second place.
"We knew this would be tough competition after Roanoke was the winning team out of 14 teams in North Carolina at the Pacer Invitational," stated head coach
Jennifer Moore. "We are also building back both volume in our training after Thanksgiving break, which can make racing more tough. It was still a great chance to compete. I'm proud of their strong effort racing."
The team will have the rest of the month of December off for the Holiday break and will return to action on Saturday, January 14 at Bridgewater.
For all the most up-to-date information regarding Southern Virginia University men's and women's swimming, please visit knightathletics.com and follow @knight_swimming on Instagram.
