Seton Hall University
St. Peter's
SHU Grounds Peacocks, Wins 126-80
11/10/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming and Diving
JERSEY CITY, N.J. – Meet seven of the 2012-13 season proved to be a favorable one for the Seton Hall women’s swimming & diving team as the Pirates extended their unbeaten streak with a 126-80 road victory over the Saint Peter’s Peacocks.
Seton Hall (7-0) collected first place points in the first seven events, putting the end result out of question early on in the proceedings. SHU finished the night with eight wins that counted towards the final, while posting the top time or score in 12 of the 13 events that were held.
In a true display of balance and depth the eight recorded victories all came from a separate source as The Hall followed up a triumph in the opening relay with wins from seven different individuals.
Swimming unopposed by SPU, the team of Andrea Shuba (Pittsburgh, Pa.), Megan Mallon (Glen Mills, Pa.), Kelly Markwell (Old Bridge, N.J.) and Alie Zelenky (Mechanicsburg, Pa.) clocked the fastest 200-yard medley time of the three competing Seton Hall squads (1:51.79).
Both Shuba and Zelenky would later post individual victories to add to their ledgers for the day. Zelenky swam to her fourth first-place finish in five 50-yard freestyle races this season, clocking in at 25.22. Gabi Levine (Garwood, N.J.) claimed second in the race (25.48) and Markwell took fourth (26.67).
Shuba’s win came in the 200-yard backstroke and was her third straight victory in the event. Her time of 2:11.21 was the class of the field as freshman Leah Mayer (London, Ontario) took second with a 2:18.00 mark.
Mayer had started her day with a win of her own, turning in the fastest 1,000-yard freestyle time of her short career by finishing in 10:53.88. Classmate Alexa Santis (Ijamsville, Md.) placed second, matching her best individual finish in a single race with a time of 11:00.25. Junior Jane Ehret (Florida, N.Y.) finished just over two seconds later; completing a sweep of the top-three spots for the Pirates, helping to set the tone for the remainder of the meet.
Mayer and Ehret paired to record two more top-five times in the 400-yard individual medley, a race won comfortably by junior Kerrie Kolackovsky (Franklin Square, N.Y.). The win gave Kolackovsky a team-high nine for the season and her time of 4:34.32 was over 13 seconds faster than the closest competitor. Mayer finished fourth (4:56.41) while Ehret picked up fifth-place points with a time of 4:58.31.
Another freshman, Rae Congdon (Ottawa, Ontario) put her first career win in the books by leading another all-SHU top-three in the 200-yard freestyle. Congdon was followed to the wall by senior Brenna O'Keefe (Hyde Park, N.Y.) and Kate Dwyer (Freehold, N.J.). The fourth spot was occupied by Cora Meehan (Noblesville, Ind.) meaning all of SHU’s entrants bested SPU’s top finisher in the race.
O’Keefe was the Pirates other winner in the pool, registering her third win in the last two meets. After finishing first twice against Providence, the senior captain was the top 200-yard butterfly performer of the night. She turned in a time of 2:15.35 to finish a third consecutive meet with at least one win. Sophomore Sarah Dougherty (Waterford, N.Y.) posted a time of 2:20.26 to collect a season-best third-place finish, followed by Markwell in fourth.
O’Keefe later swam the fastest 500-yard freestyle of the meet while Kolackovsky again surpassed the field in the 200-yard breaststroke. In the final race of the meet, Kolackovsky teamed with Levine, Congdon and freshman Katie Adams (Linwood, N.J.) to record the quickest 200-yard freestyle relay time.
Though diving unopposed, the trip to Jersey City was a memorable one for junior captain Katie Riley (Newburgh, N.Y.). Her one-meter score counted as an event victory that further widened the gap between the Pirates and their hosts. From the three-meter board, she dove to a score of 248.70, surpassing her previous career best by nearly five points.
The Hall will return to the pool in the latter part of next week as the Pirates head to Virginia to take part in the Patriot Invitational, their final competition of 2012. The meet will begin on Thursday, Nov. 15 and will continue through Saturday, Nov. 17 and will be hosted by George Mason University.
