Wheeling, W. Va. – The Wheeling University Women's Swimming team swam their final tune-up before the conference championships pm Saturday when they hosted Bethany College in dual meet action. It was a big day for the Cardinals as they honored their senior Meredith Mandal, a Pool Record fell, and they took down Bethany 116-36. The Cardinals picked up 10 event wins on the day and are sitting in good shape as they head towards the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (GMAC)/Mountain East Conference (MEC) Championships in two weeks.

The Cardinals honored Meredith Mandal as part of their senior day festivities and she had a big day in the pool. She kicked things off as a member of the Cardinals 200 Yard Medley Relay that began the day with a win. She was the second leg of the event and helped the team of Caitlin Oltman, Olivia Moyer, and Elizabeth Strange finish with a time of 2:06.38. Her individual win came a few events later in the 200 Yard Individual Medley. She beat the field by nearly seven seconds with a time of 2:21.89. Mandal's final individual event was the 100 Yard Breaststroke, where she took second with a time of 1:13.85. It was a strong wrap-up to her Wheeling regular season career as she now prepares for the conference championship.

The other big swim of the day came courtesy of freshman Gabby Baiano, who kicked off the day in the 1650 Freestyle. A few weeks ago, Baiano challenged for the pool record, but would end up posting the 4th fastest time in pool history. With five laps to go, Baiano was swimming at right around 16 minutes and had to complete her final five laps in two minutes. She did just that, touching the wall at 18:21.64 to claim the school record. She beat the old record by just under a minute and can now build off that as her career advances. Her other individual swim on the day was with Mandal in the 200 IM. She would take second in that race with a time of 2:28.26. Baiano would also compete in the final event of the day, the 200 Yard Freestyle Relay, and joined Maria Jones, Marra Johnson, and Jade Miller to get the win with a time of 1:50.39.

Wheeling had two multiple event winners on the day as sophomore Jade Miller and freshman Marra Johnson each took home two wins on the day. Miller got the first of her two wins in Event 7, the 50 Freestyle, swimming a 26.40. Her next win came eight events later in the 100 Yard Backstroke as she rounded out the day with a time of 1:01.79. Johnson's first win came two events after Miller, when she swam the 100 Yard Butterfly in 1:03.85. She ended her individual day with her second win in the 100 Yard Breaststroke where she swam a 1:13.49. The final individual win for the Cardinals came in the 100 Yard Freestyle. Sophomore Maria Jones made some personal history with her first. Collegiate win, posting a time of 1:01.84.

The Wheeling University Women's Swimming team will return to action on Tuesday, February 7th, when they take on day one of the GMAC/MEC Championships at 9 AM.