Hickory, NC. - After taking time for the Christmas break, the Wheeling University Women's Swimming team (6-3, 1-2) returned to the pool with a trip down South on Saturday. The Cardinals battled Lenoir-Rhyne for the second straight season, and fell 168-82 to open the 2026 portion of their schedule. Despite the loss, the Cardinals had two individual wins on the night as they begin the final run towards the MEC/Great Midwest Athletic Conference (GMAC) Championships.
Sophomore Lydie Sprecher led the way for the Cardinals with a first place finish in the 50 free and anchored the 200 free relay. The 50 free is one of her better events and she didn't even need one of her better swims to win the event and secure 9 points. She would finish with a time of 26.86 seconds, leading the Cardinals to take the top two spots of the event. She beat out her top teammate by .65 seconds. The 200 free relay brought in another 11 points for the team, Sprecher swimming the crucial anchor leg to kick-off the event. Androniki Chrystafi, Guilia Liberti, and Gabby Baiano who also had a first place individual finishes, swam the other 3 legs of the 200 free relay with the foursome swimming a time of 1:47.40. Sprecher's scoring wasn't done for the day though, she also brought in 2 points from her performance in the 100 fly, where she took home a fourth place finish with a time of 1:07.37.
Overall Sprecher contributed over 25% of the Cardinals points, while grabbing one of their two individual wins. Gabby Baiano would earn the other win, scoring a first place finish in the 1000 free and was a part of the winning 200 free relay. Baiano would swim a time of 11:18.85, picking up the largest win margin on the day. She would beat out teammate Lacie Langmyer, who finished second with a time of 11:49.14, the first of three top three finishes for the junior. Langmyer would also take third in the 500 Freestyle (5:41.03) and the 200 Backstroke (2:22.47) to round out her day. Grace Moorley Androniki Chrystafi, Mikayla Smitley, and Giulia Liberti finished second place in their respective races to round out the Cardinal medalists.
Smitley would be up first, taking 2nd in the 100-Meter Backstroke (1:07.72) in the first short-distance swim of the day. Liberti would take second in the very next event, swimming the 100-Meter Breaststroke at a time of 1:11.91, while Chrysafi's second place finish came in the 200-Meter Backstroke (2:19.39). Caitlin Oltman had a couple of 4th place finishes in both the 50-Freestyle (27.51) and the 100 Freestyle (1:01.84), while Sofia Gonzalez had a 4th place finish in the 100 Breaststroke (1:16.72) and a fifth place finish in the 200-Breaststroke (2:52.43). Sofia Garcia rounded out the day for the Cardinals taking a 3rd place finish in the 100 Backstroke (1:11.41).
The Wheeling University Women's Swimming team returns to action on Saturday, January 17th, when they take on Fairmont State at 1 PM.
