INDIANAPOLIS – On day two of the NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships, Florida Southern's hopes rested on the performance of its two relay teams and both of them came through by scoring points in the consolation finals. That put the Moccasins in 14th place halfway through the championships.
In two of the three individual events held on Thursday, the Moccasins did not have anyone competing, and neither of their swimmers in the 200-freestyle advanced past prelims, with junior Alli Crenshaw (Marietta, Ga.) and freshman Peyton Breault (Jacksonville, Fla.) placing 20th and 29th respectively, a little over half a second apart. Breault's time of 1:52.64 was the best of her young career so far.
The relay teams each earned a spot in Thursday night's consolation finals though, with the 200-freestyle squad taking 11th place in prelims, and the 400-medley group placing 12th. Junior Kelsey Gouge (Snellville, Ga.), sophomore Cassie Ley (Hilton Head, S.C.) and junior Lauren Reynolds (South Elgin, Ill.) were members of both, with Crenshaw anchoring the freestyle team and Breault taking that position on the medley team.
In the finals, the Moccasins again placed 11th in the 200-freestyle relay with a nearly identical time of 1:34.78, and later finished 13th in the 400-medley relay. In that race, the Mocs bettered their time at 3:49.67, adding another eight points to their team total for the meet.
That was enough to keep them challenging for a top-10 position overall with 46 points through the first two days. Lindenwood (MO) is currently 10th with 58 points, followed by Simon Fraser (BC) with 57, West Florida with 52, and Tampa with 48.
In the overall standings, Drury (MO), which is seeking its third straight national championship and sixth in the last seven years, lost its lead over Queens (NC) on Thursday and now trails by 22 ½ points (280-257½). Wingate (NC) is third with 173 points, Nova Southeastern is fourth with 159, and Cal-San Diego is fifth with 113.
Day three of the NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships gets underway Friday morning at 10:30 a.m. with prelims, and continues with finals in five more events Friday night at 6:00.
