Saturday, February 04, 2012

Valparaiso swept all three contests in a quadrangular meet held in Monmouth, Ill.  The Crusaders defeated Monmouth (Ill.) 163-87, Augustana (Ill.) 155-102, and Western Illinois 144-99 in the final tune-up for the Horizon League Championships.

The Crusaders won 10 of the 14 events on the afternoon, beginning with the opening relay.  Flavia Segatto (Pembroke Pines, Fla./Charleow Flanigan H.S.), Natalie Jarrett (Lebanon, Ind./Western Boone H.S.), Lauren Knop (Geneva, Ill./Geneva H.S.), and Ali Taubert (Bloomington, Ill./University H.S.) posted a time of 4:13.27 in the 400 medley relay, a victory by more than six seconds.

Alex Caruthers (Hilliard, Ohio/Hilliard H.S.) followed up the relay win with a triumph of her own in the 1000 freestyle.  The freshman posted a time of 11:22.12 to cruise to a 21-second victory.

Andrea Bretl (Wauwatosa, Wis./West H.S.) made it three-for-three for the Crusaders with her victory in the 200 freestyle.  She turned in a time of 2:05.00.  Bretl later added a win in the 500 free with a time of 5:33.25 as well as a a third place effort in the 50 freestyle with a time of 27.14 seconds.

Knop added an individual win of her own in the 100 backstroke.  She won by more than two seconds with a time of 1:04.10.

Jarrett made it five events and five Valpo victories with her win in the 100 breaststroke.  The senior touched the wall in 1:09.92, 0.46 seconds ahead of her nearest competitor.  She would add a victory in the 200 individual medley with a time of 2:19.20, winning the event by more than three seconds.  Jarrett finished second later in the meet in the 200 breast with her time of 2:33.17.

Segatto followed with an event win of her own in the 200 butterfly, cruising to an 11-second victory with a time of 2:14.57.  The freshman would later add her second individual victory of the day in the 200 backstroke with a four-second triumph with a time of 2:16.29.

Justine Barnes (Rochester Hills, Mich./Adams H.S.) and Knop would finish one-two for the Crusaders in the 100 butterfly.  Barnes posted a time of 1:02.93 while Knop was just 0.02 seconds behind her teammate.

Valparaiso (5-10) will begin the four-day Horizon League Championships on Feb. 22 in Milwaukee, Wis.