Red Flash Swimming Defeats Loyola In Thrilling Finish at Stokes Natatorium
LORETTO, Pa. (Oct. 26, 2007) –Saint Francis University had 16 different swimmers score team points to lead the Red Flash to a thrilling 136-126 victory over Loyola on Friday night at the Stokes Natatorium.
The race turned around on a first, second and third-place finish by Saint Francis in the 500-yard freestyle. Junior Cara Morgan (Lancaster, Pa. / Hempfield) recorded her second win of the night in the event with a time of 5 minutes, 24.94 seconds. Senior Stefanie Hozempa (Horseheads, N.Y. / Horseheads) finished second in 5:26.12, and junior Kaitlin MacDonald (Olney, Md. / Academy of the Holy Cross) took third in 5:26.70.
The Red Flash clinched the win with a first-place finish in the 14th and final race, the 400 freestyle relay. Sophomore Blair Kosela (Cresent, Pa. / Moon Area) led the way by swimming the first leg of the event, which turned out to be her third first-place finish of the night. She was followed by freshman Melissa Heintz (Boyertown, Pa. / Oley Valley), senior Sirae Riley (Lebanon, Pa. / Cedar Crest) and Hozempa. Together, the team finished with a time of 3:41.61.
The Red Flash improved to 3-3 on the year with the win. They will host Duquesne at 4 p.m. on Thursday in their final home competition this semester.
Kosela also won the 50 freestyle in 25.17 seconds, and the 100 freestyle in 55.25 seconds. Morgan won another critical race in the 1000 freestyle with a time of 10:59.29.
Sophomore Elise Merrill (Carlisle, Pa. / Big Spring), Hozempa, freshman Elyse Dobrick (Zelienople, Pa. / Seneca Valley) and Kosela kicked off the night with a second place finish in the 400 medley relay in 4:05.89, just .18 seconds off the pace of Loyola, which set a pool record in 4:05.71.
Morgan won the 1000 freestyle in the next event, and was followed by sophomore McKenzie Madore (State College, Pa. / State College), who took fifth in 11:20.66.
Heintz (1:58.15), Hozempa (2:02.24) and freshman Kayla Hollstadt (Minneapolis, Minn. / Southwest) took second through fourth in the 200 freestyle. Hollstadt touched the wall in 2:03.95.
Merrill paced senior Alicia Vasiladis (Windsor, Ontario, Canada / Saint Thomas) and junior Kaitlin Lyons (Lockport, N.Y. / Lockport) in the 100 backstroke as the three took second through fourth, respectively.
Low, sophomore Elyse Peterman (Lock Haven, Pa. / Central Mountain) and junior Jenna Raptosh (Akron, Pa. / Ephrata) completed Saint Francis’ third straight second through fourth finish in the 100 breaststroke. Low also won the 200 IM in 2:15.81.
Dobrick and MacDonald then took third and fourth, respectively, in the 200 butterfly, while Kosela paced Riley (third) and Merrill (fifth) in the 50 freestyle.
Kosela again led the way in the 100 freestyle followed by Heintz (third) and Riley (fourth), while Low (second), Vasiladis (third) and Lyons (fourth) scored big in the 200 backstroke.
Raptosh won the 200 breaststroke in 2:36.45 and was followed by Peterman in fourth in 2:41.03.