BUIES CREEK, N.C — Five different Campbell University swimmers claimed first-place finishes against UNCW, and CU won the 400-free relay, but the Fighting Camels dropped a 136-126 decision to the Seahawks on Friday afternoon inside the Johnson Aquatic Center.
After the Camels honored their eight seniors before the meet, Campbell opened the day by taking second and third place in the 400-medley relay, as the A-squad comprised of Megan Everritt, Angelica Brown, Maddie Baiotto and Colleen Renshaw combined to swim a 3:56.97. The Campbell B-squad of Kamaria Mahone, Skyler DeWall, Julia Sherlock and Neringa Cerniauskaite finished in 4:04.27.
The Camels took top honors in the next three events, with Maggie Whitman earning her first 1,000 free victory of the season, turning in a season-best time of 10:48.77. Whitman was also CU's top finisher in the 500 free (5:19.93).
Annie Sanchez followed in the 200 free with her own first-place finish, with a clocking of 1:54.06, suitable for her seventh win in the 200 free this season. Everritt won the 100 back in 59.50, two spots ahead of Mahone, who took third place in 59.78.
Campbell won both butterfly events as Lauren Shoemaker took the 200 fly in 2:09.82 before Baiotto won the 100 fly in 57.01. Sanchez, Renshaw, Baiotto and Sarah Wilson closed out the meet by winning the 400-free relay with a combined mark of 3:30.80.
In the breaststroke events, Brown earned a pair of second-place finishes, going 1:10.00 in the 100 breast before a 2:33.09 clocking in the 200 breast. Brenna Divoky took fourth in the 100 breast (1:11.06) while Elizabeth Sparacino also finished fourth in the 200 breast (2:34.93).
In the 50 free, Renshaw took second in 24.25 before Wilson's third-place finish in 24.35; Wilson again took third in the 100 free (52.98), one spot behind Sanchez' 52.52.
The Fighting Camels finished three-four in the 200 back, with Kelsey Tunstall hitting the wall in 2:10.60, right before Drew Marshall's 2:10.74. Amanda Charleston and DeWall went three-four in the 200 IM, turning in times of 2:16.99 and 2:17.23, respectively.
Campbell will take two weeks off from outside competition, preparing for a Jan. 25 meet at Liberty in Lynchburg, Va. The contest at Liberty will be the regular-season finale for the Camels.
Postseason competition begins with the CCSA Championships, which is slated for Feb. 19-22 in Knoxville, Tenn., on the campus of the University of Tennessee.
