Wheeling, W. Va. - After taking a loss on the road on Saturday, the Wheeling University Women's Swimming team was back in the pool on Wednesday as they looked for a bounce back effort. It would be a Mountain East Conference battle as the Cardinals took on Salem University, and came out on top with a 134-57 win. 10 different Cardinals scored 400 or more points on the night, with the Cardinals totaling 12 wins on the night to secure their second conference victory of the season.
Leading the way for the Cardinals was freshman Niki Chrysafi, who finished with three gold medals across her three swims on the night. She would start the day by serving as the leadoff of the Women's 400-Yard Medley Relay, joining up with teammates Giulia Liberti, Olivia Moyer, and Grace Moorley. The foursome swam a time of 4:12.64 to start the night and it just added fuel to Chrysafi's big day. Her first individual event win would come in the 100-Yard Backstroke, where Chrysafi swam a time of 1:02.56, beating out the rest of the field by just under three seconds. However, she saved her best performance for last, when she took on the 200-Yard Individual Medley. She would set a PR in the race, swimming a time of 2:21.12 to round out the night. It was a battle between Chrysafi and Lydie Sprecher, but Chrysafi was able to triumph by just under two seconds.
Two other Cardinal swimmers would pick up multiple wins on the day, with Grace Moorley and Giulia Liberti each adding two wins on the day. Both would earn their first wins in the opening relay and both would go on to add an individual win. For Liberti, that win would come in the 100-Yard Breaststroke, where she swam a time of 1:09.84 to set a season best on the day. It would be the first of two season-best efforts on the day, as she added a third place finish in the 100-Yard Freestyle, setting a season-best with a time of 59.65. Moorley would be the other Cardinal with multiple wins, earning her individual win in the long-distance events. Her win would come in her final swim of the day, as she took on the 500-Yard Freestyle. She would also set a season-best in the event, swimming a time of 5:29.62, winning the event by just under two seconds on the day.
The individual events would kick-off with the 1000-Yard Freestyle where Lacie Langmyer would take the pool. She would pick up her first place finish in the event, swimming a time of 11:36.77 to kick-off the day. She would also set a season-best, coming in the 100-Yard Backstroke, swimming a time of 1:05.55 to take second place in the field. Senior Gabby Baiano and sophomore Lydie Sprecher would each pick up wins in the short distance event with Sprecher taking the win in the 100-Yard Freestyle (56.65) and Baiano winning the 100-Yard Fly (5:31.41). The final individual win of the night would come from Sofia Garcia, who took on the 200-Yard Freestyle. She would set a season-best in the effort, putting together a time of 2:10.21, as she rounded out a strong day for the Cardinals.
The Wheeling University Women's Swimming team returns to action on Thursday, November 20th, when they compete on day one of the Malone Midseason Invitational.
