Ashland University's men's and women's swimming and diving teams had their best day across the board at the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships on Friday (Feb. 22).
Ashland's men were well represented on Day 3 of competition.
In the 500-yard freestyle, there were two men who shined. Senior Lucas Oliveira continued his impressive GLIAC Championships with a fourth-place finish. He qualified for the finals by swimming a 4:34.14, and shaved four seconds in the final, finishing in 4:30.36. Freshman Franci Aleksi also competed well in the finals after qualifying in 4:34.10. Aleksi earned eighth in the finals, finishing in 4:37.53.
Senior Keegan Goeke made it to the finals of the 100 backstroke, coming in 10th with a 50.69 in the finals.
Two of Ashland's men qualified for the finals in the 100 breaststroke. Senior Daniel Callis finished ninth (56.78), and senior Matthew Bernsdorf finished 16th (59.59).
Junior Grant Stahl made it into the finals of the 200 butterfly with a prelim time of 1:54.81. He finished 15th in the event (1:54.75).
On the women's side, there was also a lot to note for the Eagles on Friday.
Sophomore Anne Evans had an impressive showing in the 200 butterfly. Evans qualified for the finals with a time of 2:10.59. She finished eighth overall in the event with a finals time of 2:11.41.
Sophomore Tara Stevens set an Ashland record on the first day at the GLIAC Championships, and on Friday, she almost got another, narrowly missing the mark. Stevens' 5:05.97 earned her a 10th-place finish in the 500 free.
In the 100 backstroke, freshman counterparts Abigail Ellsworth and Michaela Godfrey made it to the finals. Ellsworth finished 12th (58.40), and Godfrey finished just behind her in 13th (58.48).
Sophomore Brenda Neves and senior Sophie Brightman qualified for the finals in the 100 breaststroke. Neves was 15th (1:08.45), and Brightman was 16th (1:08.85).
To round things off for the AU women, the 800 freestyle relay took fourth place in the final. The team comprised of Ellsworth, Stevens, Godfrey and senior Erin Staley finished in 7:45.88.
Ashland's men sit in fifth place, and the women are sixth, after three days.
The Eagles will conclude the GLIAC Championships on Saturday (Feb. 23) in Cleveland, Ohio, starting at 10 a.m.
AU
SWIM/SVS