Wheeling, W. Va. - On their way back from their annual winter training trip in Florida, the Wheeling University Women's Swimming team (8-3) made a pit stop in Hickory, North Carolina. The team battled Lenoir-Rhyne to kick-off the 2025 portion of the schedule, falling to the Bears 104-82 to round out the trip. The Cardinals had three individual wins on the day as they come home ready to take on the final run to the Mountain East Conference (MEC)/Great Midwest Athletic Conference (GMAC) Championships.
Leading the way for the Cardinals was junior
Gabby Baiano, who was responsible for two of her team's three individual wins on the day. Baiano would get things started right away in the first individual event, swimming in the 500-Yard Freestyle. It was a big win for the junior, who beat the rest of the field by eight seconds, swimming a time of 5:29.43. She consistently swam splits between 30 seconds and 35 seconds throughout the race, starting the run strong. She shifted gears for her second win of the day, taking on the Women's 200-Yard Freestyle. Even in the short distance, Baiano showed off her skills, just edging out Lenoir-Rhyne's Devin Poteat for the top spot with a time of 2:03.34.
The other individual win on the day for the Cardinals came from
Lydie Sprecher, who swam the 50-Yard Freestyle. It was a 1-2 finish for the Cardinals, with Sprecher taking the top spot with a time of 26.16, and teammate Ana Noguera taking second with a time of 27.19. Sprecher has been a strong swimmer for the Cardinals throughout the season, and led the short distance events. Following Baiano's swim in the 500, it was a short distance swim with
Jade Miller taking on the 100-Yard Backstroke. She would take second in the field, swimming a time of 1:03.81 to start her strong day. Before her win in the 50-Yard Freestyle, Sprecher would add another medal to her day, taking second with a time of 1:05.65.
Sofia Gonzales Bernal was up next in the 100-Yard Breaststroke, taking second with a time of 1:15.65, and
Lacie Langmyer followed with a second place finish in the 100-Yard Freestyle with a time of 58.59.
Jade Miller would swim in the final individual event, swimming in the 200-Yard Individual Medley. She rounded things out strong, taking second place with a time of 2:26.15. the final two events of the day would be in the relays, starting with the 200-Yard Medley Relay. The team of Miller, Gonzales Bernal, Sprecher, and
Sofia Castillo finished second with a time of 1:56.33. The final relay of the day was the 200-Yard Freestyle Relay. Baiano, Langmyer,
Grace Moorley, and
Maria Jones competed and took second with a time of 1:52.29.
The Wheeling University Women's Swimming team returns to action on Saturday, January 18th, when they host Fairmont State at 1 PM.
