After three days of completion at the 2011 GLIAC swimming and diving championships, both AU teams are in third place.
At the close of competition on Friday, the AU women had 414 points. Wayne State's 566 points led the field with Grand Valley State second with 486 points. Indianapolis was in fourth place with 285 points. Eight women's teams are after the team title.
The men's race was extremely close among the top three teams. Wayne State led the pack with 590 points, but Grand Valley State (534) and Ashland (533) are both within striking distance. Saturday (Feb. 12) is the final day of competition at this year's championships, held in Jenison, Mich.
The AU women got a gold medal Friday when junior Maura Anderson (Lakewood, Ohio) finished first in the 100 butterfly. Her time was 56.14, which earns her an automatic berth at the national meet. Anderson was also third in the 100 breaststroke, where she clocked in at 1:04.20. That's an NCAA "B" cut.
Sophomore Julie Widmann (Littleton, Colo./Heritage) finished second in the 100 backstroke (56.00) on Friday. Senior Allison Morgan (Strongsville, Ohio) was fourth in the 100 breaststroke (56.99). Gabriel Verdugo Arzaluz (Chihuahua, Mexico/Institute Tecnologico y d Estudious Superiores de) was second in the 200 freestyle (1:51.57).
The AU men registered two first place finishes. In the 100 breaststroke, sophomore Cheyne Fisher (Durban, South Africa/Westville) hit the touch pads first in 54.45. That got him a spot at this year's national meet and the time tied a GLIAC meet record.
Senior Matt Cook (Olmsted Falls, Ohio) led the way in the 100 backstroke. His winning time was 49.81. Freshman Alex Sheil (Sydney, Australia/Trinity) was third in the 200 freestyle (1:40.22) and senior Chewy Vogele (Westchester, Ohio/Lakota West) was third in the 100 butterfly (49.50).
AU
SWIM/ALK