Women's Swimming and Diving concludes Patriot League Championship; Finishes third with 506 points

Wednesday, February 19

Annapolis, Md.

Lehigh University

Patriot League Championships

Women's Swimming and Diving concludes Patriot League Championship; Finishes third with 506 points

2/22/2020 10:22:00 PM | Women's Swimming and Diving

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – On the fourth and final day the 2020 Patriot League Championships, the Lehigh women's swimming and diving team continued to put on a show, as the Mountain Hawks held on to their third-place position to finish with the bronze. Throughout the four-day field of events, the Mountain Hawks totaled 506 points.

FINAL RANKINGS
1. U.S. Naval Academy (927)
2. Bucknell University (533)
3. Lehigh University (506)
4. U.S. Military Academy (471)
5. Boston University (401)
6.Loyola University Maryland (302)
7. Colgate University (168)
8. American University (135)
9. College of the Holy Cross (120)
10. Lafayette College (88)

This year's performance was an improvement from last year, as the Mountain Hawks finished fourth a season ago with 447 total points. This year's PLC saw many women break records

It was a fun week for the Mountain Hawks, as it seemed they got better as the week progressed, better finishes, better times and it propelled them up the leaderboards. After a slow start, the Mountain Hawks performed at their best the last three days.

In today's events, Payton Miles and Ann Foley, two of the top swimmers all year, tried putting the team on their backs. In the 100 free, both swimmers finished inside the top-3. Foley finished second at 49.82, while Miles finished third at 50.02. Miles broke the school record earlier in the day, but then Foley's performance topped Miles' for the record.

In the final event of the Patriot League Championships, the 400 free relay group of Foley, Miles, Megan Judge and Olivia Giampietro took second at 3:19.98. This top performance secured the third-place finish for Lehigh.

The 200 back event saw a plethora of talented swimmers put on top performances, as four Lehigh swimmers finished inside the top-11. Freshman Sophia Poeta's 2:00.17 time had her fourth, while Anna Francisco finished ninth at 2:01.51. Nicole Shek and Hallie Wilson were right behind Francisco in 10^th and 11^th. Shek had a time of 2:02.22 and Wilson tallied a time of 2:02.61.

In the 200 fly, first-year swimmer Sarah Hardy finished seventh at 2:01.66, while Malia Wolf finished right behind her at 2:01.90 for eighth. In the 1620 freestyle, senior Tori Connolly wrapped up her collegiate career with a seventh-place finish with a time of 17:13.99.

Liz Olszewski finished 10^th in the 200 breast with a time of 2:18.99.

DAY THREE
The Lehigh women's swimming and diving team had its best day of the week on Friday at the 2020 Patriot League Championships. Starting the day in fifth, Lehigh used the third day to surge past two teams and is currently in third as we approach the final day.

The Mountain Hawks trail second-place Bucknell by 20 points, but they're ahead of Army in fourth by 20 points.

The highlight of the day came in the final event for the women on day three, as the 200 freestyle relay group broke a school record. The previous record of 1:31.41 was broken by Friday's group. Ann Foley (23.14), Payton Miles (22.16), Evie Gieseman (23.28) and Olivia Giampietro (22.71) combined for a time of 1:31.29. This epic performance gave the Brown and White silver in the event.

Prior to that race, Lehigh recorded multiple noteworthy performances which helped them move up on the leaderboard. In the 200 free, Lehigh showed its depth with Foley, Samantha Gallego and Megan Judge. All three ladies finished inside the top-8. Foley finished fourth with a time of 1:48.39, while Gallego finished seventh with a time of 1:49.38. The freshman Judge then finished eighth at 1:49.54.

In the 400 IM, a duo of first-year Lehigh swimmers took their performance to the next level. Danielle Prekop finished fifth with a time of 4:20.80, while Sarah Hardy was right behind her at 4:27.14. In the race, Lehigh placed two swimmers inside the top-5.

Another exceptional performance came from two Brown and White swimmers in the 100 back, as Sophia Poeta and Anna Francisco notched top-6 finishes for Lehigh. Poeta registered a time of 54.88 for fifth, and then Francisco was just behind at 55.01 in sixth.

Rounding out the performances from Lehigh on the third day, Megan Fennell finished sixth in the 1-meter dive with a score of 255.15, and Liz Olszewski finished eighth in the 100 breast with a time of 1:05.61. Malia Wolf contributed a ninth-place finish in the 100 butterfly with a time of 54.95.

DAY TWO
ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Lehigh women's swimming and diving team finds itself in a tight race at the 2020 Patriot League Championships. Through 14 events, the Mountain Hawks are currently in fifth with 167 points. Only five points separate the third and fifth-place teams. Lehigh only trails Bucknell in second by 24 points.

On day two at the Naval Academy, the Brown and White shattered another school record. Yesterday it was the 200 medley relay, but today it was from the 400 medley relay team. The group of Anna Francisco (55.02), Samantha Gallego (1:03.63), Malia Wolf (54.49) and Payton Miles (49.02) together swam a time of 3:42.256. The previous record came last season, as Francisco, Wolf, Ann Foley and Anna Thomas combined to swim a time of 3:44.89. In the 200 medley relay, the women finished fourth.

The Mountain Hawks had three top performers in the 50 free. Miles was the first Brown and White swimmer to cross the line in fourth place at 23.03, while her teammate Foley finished inches behind at 23.06. Olivia Giampietro tallied a 12^th place finish with a time of 23.59.

In the 200 IM, Liz Olszewski came gave it her all with a time of 2:03.38. The sophomore finished eight, while the junior Wolf came in 15^th with a time of 2:06.90.

In the 500 free, the junior Gallego was the first Lehigh swimmer to finish at 4:56.92. Gallego came in eighth, while senior leader Tori Connolly finished in 15^th at 5:00.27.

DAY ONE
ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Lehigh women's swimming and diving team began the 2020 Patriot League Championships on Wednesday. On the first day of competition, the Mountain Hawks recorded a second-place finish and broke a school record.

In the 200 medley relay, the group of Anna Francisco (25.21), Anna Thomas (29.62), Malia Wolf (24.21) and Payton Miles (22.42) teamed up finish with a time of 1:41.76. The time of 1:41.76 broke a Lehigh school record. The previous record was in 2018, as Francisco, Thomas, Miles and Audra Smires recorded a time of 1:43.14. The Brown and White recorded a fourth-place finish in the event.

Lehigh notched another top performance in the 800 medley relay, as Foley, Megan Judge, Tori Connolly and Sam Gallego took silver with a time of 7:14.35. Navy took gold in the event with a time of 7:11.38.

Competing in the 3-meter dive was Megan Fennell. The junior registered a score of 241.55, but then totaled a 227.90 score in the finals for a seventh-place finish.