Salisbury, N.C. – The Catawba College swim team capped off the regular season in style with dominant wins over Lees-McRae and Chowan, with the seniors receiving a fitting send-off at Johnson Pool on Saturday afternoon. The men's team rolled to a 168.00-79.00 win over Lees-McRae and a 161.00-75.00 win over Chowan, while the No. 22nd ranked women cruised with wins over Lees-McRae 197.00-46.00 and Chowan 198.00-31.00 as they geared up for the postseason.

HOW IT HAPPENED

200 Yard Medley Relay

- Catawba opened the meet with a sweep, setting the tone early. In the women's heat, Ash Fortin, Alix Henras-Marouf, Marit Reckmann, and Brinkley Watson cruised to the win with a time of 1:48.47, nearly 15 seconds faster than the runner-up mark. For the men, it would be Isaac Haut, Maks Minichowski, Rodrigo Yus Fernandez, and Balazs Meszaros combining for the winning time of 1:34.24

1000 Yard Freestyle

- Catawba women swept the podium, led by Ella Gutenwik's 10:39.51 effort. Rebecca Possenti took second at 11:18.29, followed by Lillie Martin in third with a time of 11:21.64

- Elias Hysing gave Catawba the win in the men's heat as well, with a time of 10:01.99. Kyle Rock rounded out the top three at 11:18.29

200 Yard Freestyle

- For the women, it was a similar story to the 1000 Yard Freestyle as another three Catawba swimmers paced the field. Hannah Koopmans was the leader of the pack with a time of 1:58.63, while Taylor Wilson just edged out Fortin for second, 2:00.38 to 2:00.86

- The men's heat was almost a photo-finish, with Chowan's Dimitrije Markovic barely beating Leon Heiermann, 1:46.78 to 1:46.91, with Joao Oliveira also right there in the mix with a time of 1:46.92 for third

100 Yard Backstroke

- Kenzie Peurifoy took the win for the women with a time of 1:02.34, with Alana Derringer right behind her at 1:02.79. Diamond Mosley nearlymade it another all-Catawba top-three, as her time of 1:03.88 being beaten out by .13

- The men's heat also featured an all-Catawba top-two, and it was even closer. Yus Fernandez just squeezed past Nolan Lacjak in a friendly battle for first that finished 53.54 to 53.64. Haut would take fifth with a time of 54.89

100 Yard Breaststroke

- Gabi Moll cruised to the win the women's heat with a 1:07.84 effort, followed by Laurel Keasler in second with a time of 1:11.26 in another Catawba top-two

- It was the same story on the men's side, as Rowan Viles earned the win with a time of 58.51. Ryan Case was right behind him in second at 59.07

200 Yard Butterfly

- Jolina Franke and Berta Vidal Carnero competed against each other in the women's heat, with Franke coming out on top for the win, 2:15.93 to 2:21.66

- It was a much tighter affair for the men, decided by less than a second. Lewis Mikesell took the win with a time of 2:01.16, while Enrique Rodriguez beat Chowan's Markovic by a fingertip, 2:01.38 to 2:01.40 in a split-second finish

50 Yard Freestyle

- Henras-Marouf rolled to victory for the women with a 23.98 effort, with Reckmann taking second with a time of 24.25. Emily Heim finished fifth at 26.66

- Minichowski completed another Catawba sweep thanks to a winning effort of 20.76, while Marshall Wells took fourth in another split-second finish as his time of 22.98 was just .02 behind the third place mark and .12 behind the second place time

100 Yard Freestyle

- Watson led a nearly all-Catawba top-five, posting a winning time of 53.53. Gutenwik took second with a time of 54.63, followed by Koopmans in third at 55.03

- Meszaros dueled with Chowan's Robert Cabrera for first, with Cabera barely emerging victorious by a time of 47.30 to 47.41. Haut rounded out the top three with a 49.22 mark

200 Yard Backstroke

- In the women's heat, Wilson touched the wall for the win after 2:11.72. Derringer (2:15.22) and Possenti (2:16.94) completed a Catawba sweep in the top-three

- Alejandro Alvarez rolled to the win for the men with a 1:55.22 effort, as Oliveira took third after being just .37 behind Lees-McRae's Chase Davis. Rodriguez placed fifth with a time of 2:05.49

200 Yard Breaststroke

- Moll earned another win on the afternoon with a dominant time of 2:24.84, nearly 14 seconds ahead of Bridgette Pearson's second place mark of 2:38.84

- The men's heat was similarly all-Catawba in the top-two, led by Minichowski earning another win at 2:03.85 and followed by Case with a time of 2:07.50

500 Yard Freestyle

- Byrne was just as dominant as Moll was in the 200 Yard Breastroke, clocking in at 5:14.86 for a nearly 15-second victory. Franke would take second wth a time of 5:29.23, while Heim took fifth at 5:42.15

- Mikesell earned another win in the men's heat thanks to a 4:51.87 effort, with Heiermann finishing as the runner up with a time of 4:54.78. Rock would take seventh at 5:24.93

100 Yard Butterfly

- Reckmann went head-to-head against Chowan's Ashley Mayes in the women's heat, with Mayes just beating her out for the win, 59.94 to 1:00.07. Fortin (1:04.95) and Mosley (1:05.06) took fourth and fifth, respectively

- Yus Fernandez (57.32), Viles (58.32), and Wells (58.36) all placed fifth through seventh on the men's side

200 Yard IM

- Vidal Carnero earned the win for the women with mark of 2:18.03, with Keasler taking third at 2:22.14

- On the men's side, Alvarez earned the win by nearly seven seconds with a time of 1:57.26, as Lacjak placed as the runner-up with a 2:04.10 effort

200 Yard Freestyle Relay

- Catawba's women ended the day the same as they began it, with another winning effort. Watson, Henras-Marouf, Pearson, and Wilson combined for a winning time of 1:39.51, while another Catawba team comprised of Koopmans, Gutenwik, Peurifoy, and Heim took the runner-up spot thanks to a 1:43.57 effort as both Catawba teams took first and second

- On the men's side, it was a close battle for first that would see Catawba just fall short to a team from Chowan. Case, Meszaros, Alvarez, and Wells posted a time of 1:27.70, just behind the winning mark of 1:27.25

UP NEXT

- Catawba Swimming will enter the postseason in their next outing, competing for the South Atlantic Conference crown at the Conference Championship, which is slated to begin Feb. 14th.