From Case Western Reserve University Athletics
Case Western Reserve University women's swimming totaled one NCAA Division III 'B' cut time and broke two school records during the final day of competition at the Wooster Invitational, propelling the squad to a first-place finish at the meet.
CWRU's women dominated the 11-team field with 1,984.5 points, finishing well-ahead of second-place Wooster (1,350) and third-place Gannon (1,237). It marked the squad's third straight first-place finish at the meet.
Junior Suhan Mestha led the Spartan women again on Saturday, notching a 'B' cut time of 2:02.55 in the 200-yard backstroke. That time also broke the previous school record of 2:03.49 set by Mestha in 2016. Freshman Caitlyn VonFeldt placed second in the event with a time of 2:04.68 and junior Bhavya Kumaran finished sixth with a time of 2:10.14.
The women's 400-yard freestyle relay team of Mestha, VonFeldt, freshman Vanya Ruppart and senior Jennifer Eurich also broke a school record, as they finished first in the event with a time of 3:30.71. That time breaks the previous school record of 3:30.77 set back in 2016 at the UAA Championships.
The Spartan women were also strong in the 200-yard breaststroke and the 200-yard butterfly, finishing with four 'A' final finishers in the 200-yard breast and three 'A' final finishers in the 200-yard fly. The 200-yard breast 'A' final finishers were sophomore Sarah Taekman (second, 2:27.85), sophomore Alexa Simoneau (third, 2:28.07), sophomore Elizabeth Ye (sixth, 2:29.15) and sophomore Julia Ver Voort (eighth, 2:29.40 in the prelim). The 200-yard fly 'A' final finishers were sophomore Olivia Picchione (third, 2:10.49), sophomore Monica Khare(fourth, 2:13.16 in the prelim) and junior Casey Crowley (eighth, 2:15.42 in the prelim).
Other top finishers for the women were freshman Sophia Vaccaro (third, 18:10.95) and junior Kelsey Holmberg (fifth, 18:13.94) in the 1,650-yard freestyle, sophomore Rhiannon Reese(first, 1:02.38 in the prelim) and senior Taylor Johnson (eighth, 1:06.51 in the prelim) in the 100-yard individual medley, and Ruppart (fifth, 53.74) and Eurich (sixth, 53.76) in the 100-yard freestyle.
Also for the Spartan women, senior Brooke Hortness finished second in the three-meter dive with a score of 387.85.