Jayhawks Lead South Dakota After Nine First-Place Finishes on Friday

10/25/2024 8:24:00 PM | Women's Swimming and Diving

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Out of ten events, Kansas Women's Swimming and Diving totaled nine first place victories to cap off day one of its dual against South Dakota at Robinson Natatorium on Friday evening.

After day one of the two-day dual meet, the Jayhawks lead over South Dakota, 142-44.

"It was a nice start to the weekend," said Head Coach Clark Campbell. "We definitely raced better than we have in the last couple of meets so getting out and just competing has been super important. I'm really happy with how we kicked off the meet with the medley relay and kept the momentum going all the way through. I thought Brigid Gwidt and Hailey Farrell had a really good meet, as well as Eleni (Kotzamanis) and Lezli (Sisung). Claire (Hyatt) and Caroline (Blake) both in the 50-free were really good. So it was a good start. We talked about how we had to win tonight and do the right things and get us ready to race fast in the morning because that's what you have to do in championship meets."

Kansas started strong with all of its entries in the 200-medley relay with podium finishes. The winning squad of senior Lezli Sisung, juniors Lydia Lafferty and Caroline Blake and sophomore Ryan Johnston had a time of 1:42.84 for the first of the many Kansas victories to come. Senior Ellie Howe, junior Molly Robinson, freshman Anna Gearhart and sophomore Mia Waldron narrowly trailed for runner-up as sophomore Bradie Ward and juniors Aidan Howze, Hailey Farrell and Claire Hyatt rounded up in third.

The longest race of the dual brought another pair of top-placements for the Jayhawks as sophomore Gracyn O'Mara earned a silver and senior Karla Lessing a bronze in the 1000-freestyle.

As with every 200-freestyle race this season, senior Eleni Kotzamanis secured her third straight victory in the event while on her way to a season best time of 1:50.17, while freshman Gabi Dyer came in second and senior Addi Barnes landed in third.

Sisung gathered her second gold of the day after posting a 54.78 time in the 100-backstroke, while Howe edged out a South Dakota swimmer for runner-up.

The following events highlighted more top-3 Kansas finishes as Johnston was just .01 second away from tying her season best in her pursuit to the top of the podium in the 100-breaststroke (1:04.24). Robinson and Howze cleaned-up the second and third spots before Farrell stacked on her own victory in the 200-butterfly (2:05.90), as Brigid Gwidt and Maya Lambert trailed in second and third. Claire Hyatt claimed the 50-freestyle (23.68) as Blake snagged second and Waldron finished third.

Barnes found her second medal of the day and first win of the season in the 200 IM, while Howze nabbed her third bronze of the evening.

The final event of the night earned the last two Jayhawk medals as Farrell, Kotzamanis, Dyer and Tait Haag swam a time of 7:35:00 for the victory, while Blake and freshmen Izzy Satterlee, Sophie Wallace and Lucia Krings collected a bronze.

ON THE BOARDS
Reigning Big 12 Diver of the Week Shiyun Lai once again dominated the boards as she won the 3-meter dive with an astounding 378.38 points. Backing up her performance were juniors Lize van Leeuwen and Grace Zifcak with their own second and third place finishes, respectively.

EVENT WINNERS
200 medley relay: Lezli Sisung, Ryan Johnston, Lydia Lafferty and Caroline Blake (1:42.84)
200 freestyle: Eleni Kotzamanis (1:50.17)
100 back: Lezli Sisung (54.78)
100 breast: Ryan Johnston (1:04.24)
200 fly: Hailey Farrell (2:05.90)
50 free: Claire Hyatt (23.68)
200 IM: Addi Barnes (2:07.35)
800 free relay: Hailey Farrell, Eleni Kotzamanis, Gabi Dyer and Tait Haag (7:35:00)
3M Diving: Shiyun Lai (368.38)

SATURDAY ORDER OF EVENTS
11 a.m. start
200 Freestyle Relay
400 IM (1M diving begins)
100 Freestyle
200 Backstroke
100 Butterfly
500 Freestyle
200 Breaststroke
400 Freestyle Relay

FOLLOW ALONG
Admission is free for all fans and spectators. Live results for the South Dakota meet can be found here, while fans can also stream the meet through the Kansas Women's Swimming and Diving Facebook Live account. Live updates can be found on the team's official X account.