University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Compete in Minnesota Grand Prix
11/14/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming & Diving
The University of Minnesota women’s swimming and diving team started strongly on the first day of competition at the USA Swimming Minnesota Grand Prix at the University Aquatic Center in Minneapolis. The Golden Gophers won the 800 free relay and had at least two swimmers finish in the top eight in four of five final events.
The highlight of the night came in the 200 freestyle with three current Gophers and one future Gopher finishing in the top 10. Marissa Davies led Minnesota in the event with a third place finish in 1:49.93. Coming not so far behind her in fourth place was teammate Hannah Whitehead (1:50.93). Recently signed Minnesota recruit Hailey Szews finished seventh with a time of 1:52.91, while current Gopher Kristen Steenvoorden finished second in the consolation final (1:51.09) and 10th overall.
Winning the 200 free was U.S. Open champion Erika Erndl with a time of 1:47.84. Coming behind her in second place was Olympian Chloe Sutton in a time of 1:48.18.
Sutton earned a victory of her own in the 1000 freestyle with a time of 9:43.88. Coming in second was Kate Ziegler, another Olympian, in 9:43.12. Sophomore Ashley Steenvoorden took fourth place (9:43.88) in the 1000 free, while fellow Gopher Loren Brandon took fifth (10:10.45).
In the 100 breastroke, junior Jillian Tyler faced off against Rebecca Soni, a gold medal winner in the 200 breast at the 2008 Olympics, for the first time since Soni beat Tyler in the 100 breast at last year’s NCAA Championships. Once again Soni bested Tyler, winning the 100 breast in 59.69. Tyler finished in third with an NCAA-B qualifying time of 1:01.16. Also finishing in the top eight were Haley Spencer in 5th place (1:03.86), Paige Bradley in 6th (1:04.40) and Emma Jackson in 8th (1:05.12).
Soni also had a second-place finish in the 200 individual medley with a time of 2:00.89. U.S. Open champion Erika Erndl finished in third in 2:02.62, while Washington State’s Talor Whitaker won the event in 2:00.89. Sophomore Kristen Steenvoorden led the Gophers in the event, taking second place in the consolation final and finishing 10th overall (2:05.51).
In the 100 butterfly, Junior Kaylee Jamison led Minnesota with a fourth place finish in 55.90. Teammate Megan Braun finished in sixth place (56.23), while Kelsey Ridder finished in seventh (56.31). In the consolation final, freshman Annalise Colton took second place (56.64) and finished 10th overall, while fellow freshman Laurden Weis took 11th overall in 57.13.
Minnesota’s win came in the 800 free relay with the Minnesota A squad taking the event in 7:21.36. On the squad were Kristen Steenvoorden, Hannah Whitehead, Ashley Steenvoorden and Marissa Davies. Minnesota’s B squad finished in third place with a time of 7:29.76. The B squad was comprised of Lauren Weis, Megan Braun, Alison Eggers and Loren Brandon.
The University of Minnesota women’s swimming and diving team will continue competition at the USA Swimming Minnesota Grand Prix tomorrow with preliminaries starting at 9 a.m. The finals will begin at 6 p.m. at the University Aquatic Center in Minneapolis.
Players Mentioned
