IOWA CITY, Iowa – The Washington State University swim team opened competition at the Hawkeye Invitational with a splash, setting a school record in the 200 free relay. The Cougar team of Alison Mand, Hannah Bruggman, Nicole Proulx, and Haley Rose Love clocked a time of 1:31.56 to finish in third place. Mand led the team with a leadoff leg of 23.11 seconds, a personal best and the third-fastest time in Cougar history. The time was one of 17 personal bests by the WSU women in the opening day of Iowa's annual invite.
“We had some great swims today,” Cougar Head Coach Tom Jager said. “We did well, but we're always looking to get faster and we're hoping to improve tomorrow.”
Washington State qualified nine competitors for the 50 freestyle finals. In the A-final, Mand took fifth place with a time of 23.25. The senior was followed closely by Bruggman (23.37) and Love (23.42) in sixth and seventh place, respectively. Bruggman qualified for the A-final with a personal-best time of 23.35, the sixth-fastest time in Cougar history. WSU earned 41 points in the event, as senior Nicole Proulx (23.53, 10th), redshirt-freshman Anna Rosen (23.90, 14th), and freshman Anna Brolin (24.03, 15th) added points in the B-final.
The evening's 500 free B-final featured three WSU swimmers. Freshman Rachel Thompson notched the fifth-fastest time of the evening, touching the wall in 4:55.09. The time was a personal best for Thompson, earning the Santa Ana, Calif., native nine points and the sixth-fastest time in WSU history. Sophomore Elise Locke (4:56.80) finished one spot back from Thompson, with a personal best and the eighth-fastest time in WSU history. Fellow sophomore Kendra Griffin finished in 4:58.44 to earn five points for the Cougars.
In the 200 IM A-final, Proulx took fifth place (2:05.43) to earn 14 points for the Crimson and Gray. Proulx qualified for the top flight with a personal record in the event prelims, clocking a time of 2:04.90. Junior Loree Olson found her way into the A-final of the event with a personal-best time of 2:02.61. The time placed her fourth on WSU all-time list. Fellow juniors Shaya Schaedler and Frederikke Hall earned seven and six points, respectively. Schaedler clocked the sixth-fastest time of the finals, touching the wall in 2:04.95. Hall took 11th place in the event with a time of 2:05.09. Both juniors set personal bests with their performances.
In the 400 medley relay, the WSU team of Mand, Hall, Brolin, and Bruggman finished in third place to earn the Cougars 32 points. WSU finished the opening day of competition in third place with 163 points. Host-school Iowa (220) sits in second place, while Denver (238) leads the competition.
The Hawkeye Invitational continues Saturday with the second day of competition. Prelims will begin at 10 a.m. CT (8 a.m. PT) with the finals session beginning at 6 p.m. CT. The meet concludes Sunday, Dec. 7.
