Wheeling, W. Va. - The 2025-2026 season marks a new era of Wheeling Women's Swimming, and it all began at the WVU Games on Saturday at the Mylan Park Aquatic Center. It was a big day for the Wheeling University Women's Swimming team as they took third in the field of eight teams, putting up 421.5 points in the effort. The Cardinals were just 29 points off of Fairmont State for the lead among Mountain East Conference (MEC) competitors as they rounded out a strong start to the season.
Leading the way for the Cardinals was Androniki Chrysafi, who scored 489.1 points to finish 21st overall at the event. While she did not pick up a medal on the day, she was a big player in the relay events, helping the Cardinals to two top five finishes in the relay field. She would be part of the Cardinal's 400-Yard Freestyle Relay team, where she joined teammates Guilia Liberti, Gabby Baiano, and Lydie Sprecher. The foursome finished 5th overall with a time of 4:16.95, wiht Chrysafi serving as the leadoff swimmer with a split of 57.00.Her top individual finish would come in the 200-Yard Backstroke, where she finished 7th overall with a time of 2:22.94. She added a 9th place finish in the 100-Yard Freestyle, swimming a time of 57.14 to round out her day in the pool.
A pair of Cardinal veterans finished just off the pace of Chrysafi, with Gabby Baiano and Lacie Langmyer each cracking the top 30 of the event. She would continue her success in the long distance events from last season, with her top performance coming in the 1000-Yard Freestyle. She would take 5th overall, swimming a time of 11:31.62, and would finish with a top 10 finish in the 500-Yard Freestyle, taking 7th overall with a time of 5:35.18. Langmyer would also excel in the long distance events, joining Baiano in both the 1000 and 500 Yard Freestyle. Her top performance also came in the 1000, where she took 6th with a time of 11:35.58, while adding a 10th place finish in the 500 (5:39.02). Both look to continue to excel in long distance swims as they serve as the veterans for this young team.
Rounding out the top 30 swimmers for the Cardinals was Giulia Liberti, who finished 30th overall with 431.8 points. Liberti would take on the short distance events for the Cardinals, with her top finish coming in the 200-Yard Breaststroke. She would finish 7th overall with a time of 2:39.64 and added an eighth place finish in the 100-Yard Breaststroke with a time of 1:11.57. Sitting just outside the top 30 for the Cardinals were Olivia Moyer and Lydie Sprecher, who finished 31st and 32nd respectively. Moyer would pick up her top finish of her career in the 200-Yard Butterfly, where she finished fourth with a time of 2:56.0 for her lone top five finish of the day. Sprecher rounded out the day swimming in the 100-Yard Butterfly, where she finished 8th with a time of 1:04.92.
Before the 400-Yard Medley Relay made waves in the beginning of the day, it was the 200-Yard Medley Relay that got things started strong. The team of Chrysafi, Liberti, Sprecher, and Grace Moorley would finish 4th overall, swimming a time of 1:53.73. It would be the top relay placement on the day for the Cardinals, and things would round out with the 200-Yard Freestyle Relay. This time, it was Chrysafi, Sprecher, Moorley, and Langmyer who took the pool, finishing 7th overall with a time of 1:45.83.
The Wheeling University Women's Swimming team returns to action on Saturday, October 11th, when they hit the road to face Frostburg State and West Virginia Wesleyan with first swims beginning at 1 PM.
