SPORTS

 

DAVIDSON — Davidson won 18 of 32 events in the water — and earned a women’s team win — Friday night against Gardner-Webb at Cannon Pool.

It was the final full competitive tune-up prior to the Atlantic 10 Conference championship, which is now less than three weeks away.

Sarah Helen Shepherd won three events to lead the Davidson women in a 189-95 team win, while Crossan Cooper’s wins highlighted the men’s effort in an 155-133 loss.

Shepherd set the pace in the 100 breaststroke (1:05.83), the 200 breast (2:22.30) and the 200 individual medley (2:05.71), while also joining Hope Carpenter, Olivia Stanley and Abby Francis in the 4×50 medley relay (1:46.98) victory.

Shelby Stanley added wins in the butterfly events, winning the 100 in 56.51 and the 200 in 2:03.77. Siena Senn won twice as well, touching the wall first in the 200 free (1:53.66) and 500 free (5:06.40), in which she was followed closely by teammate Kate Pottle (5:12.91).

Pottle swam to first in the 1,000 free (10:47.44), and Julia Goodhead won the 100 backstroke (58.50). Diver Liz Goei posted scores of 223.43 (1M) and 241.20 (3M) in wins.

“The women were great,” said Davidson coach John Young. “They’ve got a lot of momentum. They’re having fun and getting the job done.”

For the Davidson men, freestyler Cooper posted wins in the 500 (4:45.62) and 1,000 (9:48.10), while Daniel Valmassei swept the diving events with scores above the 300-point mark.

Kilian Quinn added a win in the 50 free (21.81), and Owen Corkery won the 200 backstroke (1:52.80).

“At the end of the day, we swam really well,” said Young. “As we get closer and closer to our championship, we want to be swimming faster at each of our competitive opportunities, and we saw the guys taking steps in that direction, which is very encouraging.”

Up Next
The Davidson divers will compete at James Madison next weekend, while the A-10 championships are set for Feb. 19-22.