NIAGARA, N.Y. (November 9, 2024) – Sophomore Grace Idowu led five top three finishes with an event win in a school-record time to lead Stonehill College in a dual meet with Niagara University at Oxy Aquatic Center today.

 

Idowu broke her own school record in a winning performance in the 100-yard freestyle (PHOTO BY Bob Blanchard)

Idowu won the 100-yard freestyle in a school-record time of 53.12-seconds, helped Stonehill's 200-yard freestyle relay to a second-place finish and turned in a personal-best time in the 100-yard butterfly to highlight the afternoon. She broke her own previous record of 53.31-seconds in the 100-yard free at the Northeast Conference Championships in February with the lowest time in the NEC this season entering the weekend. Junior Kristy Barry finished fourth in 57.12-seconds, while senior Sharlotte Lundell rounds out the top five in 57.29.

Idowu also swam the lead leg of Stonehill's 200-yard freestyle relay in 24.73-seconds that finished second to Niagara in a season-best 1:42.54. Barry swam the second leg in 25.57-seconds, with junior Jami Hepburn completing the third leg in 26.06-seconds, before junior Taylor Belanger swam the anchor leg in 26.18.

Idowu also clocked in a personal-best time of 1:00.95 in the 100-yard butterfly for a fifth-place finish, just behind Lundell who scored second place points with her fourth-place finish in 1:00.46.

Freshman Maddie Gomez posted a school-record time of 5:19.26 in the 500-yard freestyle that scored second place points for Stonehill with the fourth-place overall finish. She broke the previous school mark of 5:25.78 by sophomore teammate Isabella Rodriguez at the NEC Championships in February. Gomez also placed fourth in the 200-yard freestyle in 1:59.17.

Stonehill also took second in the 200-yard breaststroke relay in 2:03.11, led by Hepburn and Belanger. Hepburn swam the opening leg in 30.80-seconds, followed by a 30.95-second split for the second leg by freshman Rena Gilligan, before freshman Lilith Peterson completed the third leg in 31.33-seconds and then Belanger swam the anchor leg in 30.03-seconds.

 

Gomez

Belanger added a second-place individual finish in the 100-yard breaststroke by a mere 0.12-seconds with her season-best time of 1:07.95. Peterson placed fourth in a season-best 1:08.83, while Hepburn took fifth in a season-best 1:09.43. Peterson also scored second place points in the 200-yard breaststroke with a season-best time of 2:28.92, which was good for third overall, while Hepburn was scored third in a season-best 2:35.61.

Freshman Elizabeth Weston rounded out Stonehill's top three finishers in third for the 100-yard backstroke in a season-best 1:00.29. She also scored second place points in the 200-yard backstroke in a season-best 2:15.32.

Niagara won the head-to-head dual with 178 points, with Stonehill collecting 76.
 
More Results

Coach's Quote:
"It's always fun to swim fast in season and practice a long trip to prepare for NEC Championships. I'm proud of how our team showed up, and excited to see some school records fall early in the season for us. It's also great to get to compete against a phenomenal Niagara squad that shows us where we can get as our program continues to grow."
- Matt Distler, Head Coach

Up Next:
Stonehill returns to action on Friday when it visits Babson College for a dual meet at Morse Pool at 5 p.m.
 
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