The Valpo men’s and women’s swimming teams continued the fall semester slate Saturday afternoon as the Beacons competed at a tri-meet at Eastern Illinois with Bellarmine. The day was highlighted by sophomore Andrew Berzai (South Bend, Ind./Mishawaka Marian) touching the wall first in the 200 breaststroke.

How It Happened

• Berzai earned the Beacons’ lone event victory on Saturday, taking the 200 breast on the men’s side as he touched the wall in 2:14.94.
• On the women’s side, freshman Emma Schmidt (Overland Park, Kan./Blue Valley) earned two runner-up finishes as she led Valpo in three individual events. Schmidt took second place in the 200 free (2:03.39) and the 500 free (5:22.97) and also placed third in the 1000 free (11:17.86).
• Freshman Jackson Oostman (Aurora, Ill./Marmion Academy) claimed a second-place finish for the Valpo men, earning runner-up honors in the 200 back with a time of 1:57.71. Oostman led the Beacons in three events, touching the wall third overall in the 100 back (53.56) and the 400 IM (4:18.21).
• Freshman Anthony Martin (Bartlett, Ill./Bartlett) joined Oostman as he paced Valpo in three events. His day was highlighted by a third-place showing in the 100 free (49.25), while Martin also led the Beacons in the 50 free and the 200 free.
• Freshman Ricky Helmboldt (Tucson, Ariz./Arizona Connections Academy) posted a pair of strong swims in the distance events. Helmboldt came up less than two seconds shy of cracking Valpo’s all-time top-10 in the 1000 free, placing third with a time of 10:10.14, and the freshman also came home third in the 500 free with a time of 4:59.11.
• Sophomore Bridget Pollard (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield) led the Valpo women in a pair of events, placing third overall in the 100 fly with a time of 1:00.70 and also recording a team-best swim in the 400 IM. Fellow sophomore Dot Chislett (Stillwater, Minn./Stillwater Area) came home third in 2:17.09 in the 200 fly.
• Sophomore Sara Strauss (Spring Lake, Mich./Spring Lake) led Valpo on Saturday in the 100 free and the 100 breast, while senior Sophie Morelock (Milan, Mich./Milan) paced the Beacons in the 100 and 200 backs.
• The team scoring had the Valpo men falling 158-103 to Eastern Illinois and 181-80 to Bellarmine, while the women fell 192-69 to Eastern Illinois and 159-100 to Bellarmine.

Next Up

Valpo returns to the pool for competition next weekend as the Beacons trek to Green Bay for a dual meet Saturday, Oct. 29 at 2 p.m.