Saturday, January 21, 2006

Valparaiso took to the pool for its final home meet of the season Saturday afternoon, but could not defeat Eastern Illinois, as the Panthers captured a 145-68 decision at the Athletics-Recreation Center pool.

For the second straight day, Amanda Gregory (Carmel, Ind./Carmel H.S.) took home top honors in the 200 freestyle. Gregory touched the wall in 2:01.25 today.

The Brown and Gold also claimed the top two finishers in the 50 freestyle. Tina Vande Vusse (Des Plaines, Ill./Maine West H.S.) won the event in 25.28 seconds, followed by Rachel Korellis (Champaign, Ill./Centennial H.S.), who came home in 25.71 seconds.

Katy Eelma (Bloomington, Ind./Bloomington North H.S.) was the only other Valpo swimmer to take home first in an individual event, winning the 100 freestyle in 56.18 seconds. The Crusader 200 free relay team also notched a victory in 1:42.87.

Seniors Leah Schneider (Sussex, Wis./Arrowhead H.S.) and Shannon McDonald (Crown Point, Ind./Marian Catholic H.S.) were honored during the meet as they took place in the final home meet of their career.

Valparaiso (1-11) concludes its 2005-2006 campaign at the Mid-Continent Conference Championships February 16-18, hosted by IUPUI in Indianapolis, Ind. Preliminaries each day will begin at 10 a.m. CST, followed by finals at 5:30 p.m.