Geneva, Ohio- The University of Findlay men's and women's swim teams competed on the fourth day of the NCAA Division II National Championships, which are being held at the Spire Institute in Geneva, Ohio. Competition began in the morning on Friday, March 15 with the preliminary rounds and concluded with finals in the evening session. Through four days, Findlay's women are in seventh while the men sit in eighth in the team standings.
Friday got started in the men's 500 free where sophomore Matteo Filippi participated in the prelims, finishing the event in 30th with a time of 4:32.10.
Next up was the women's 100 backstroke. Junior Sasha Melnyk took to the water and finished the prelims with the 14th-best time of the morning, a 54.99. That qualified her for the consolation final in the evening where she eventually would finish 12th with a 55.08. That is good for second team all-American.
On the men's side, graduate senior Tim Stollings, fresh off last night's national championship in the 100 butterfly, was back in the pool for the prelims of the 100 back. Seeded second in the event, he would finish the morning session with the second-best time, a 46.33. In the evening's finals, swimming in the last individual event of his historic career at UF, Stollings finished fourth, recording a time of 46.19. It was the 12th podium finish in an individual event of his career.
In the 100 breaststroke, sophomore Katie Susi recorded a time of 1:01.87, the fifth-fastest time in the prelims, qualifying for the championship finals. That time was good for a new program record. Later in the evening, Susi had a time of 1:02.00 which got her a fourth place finish, her first career individual podium finish.
The same event for the men featured a pair of Findlay athletes as senior Luca Chiandussi and senior Marko Priednieks took to the water. Priednieks finished 27th with a time of 55.36 while Chiandussi qualified for the championship final by two-tenths of a second, recording a time of 53.50. The finals saw Chiandussi take eighth with a 53.56, good for first team all-American honors, the second consecutive year he has earned a podium finish in the event.
Sophomore standout Emily Mears-Bentley continued a great week in the pool in the 200 butterfly. In the prelims, Mears-Bentley finished sixth with a 1:59.92, a school record. In the finals, the Leicester, England native recorded the exact same time, and finished sixth to earn first team all-American.
Friday evening concluded with the 200 freestyle relays and the Oilers had both a men's and women's team in the field. The women were up first.
Junior Sydney Jones led off the relay and was followed by sophomore Troie Grubbs, junior Sasha Melnyk, and freshman Sofia Lesmes Montes. Grubbs recorded the fastest split of the group, a 23.03. The quartet would finish with a time of 1:34.32, good for 19th.
Next up were the men. Junior Camilo Marrugo led off and was followed by Tim Stollings, junior Zein Kawas, and senior Dags Bregis. Stollings' 19.56 was the fastest split as the squad would take 11th with a time of 1:19.43, good for second team all-American.
Saturday, March 16 will be the final day of the National Championship event and will begin for the Oilers with the women's 100 freestyle at 10:00 am.
