Seton Hall University
Bucknell
Pirates Compete at Bison Invite
2/3/2013 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming and Diving
LEWISBURG, PA. – After kicking off 2013 with two dual meets in two days last weekend, the Seton Hall women’s swimming & diving team was back in action on Saturday, taking part in the Bison Invitational.
The unscored meet was hosted by Bucknell, with American, Army, Delaware, Lafayette and Shippensburg joining SHU in the role of visitors. Prior to the season, head coach Ron Farina identified the trip to Lewisburg as a date meant to provide an extra opportunity for SHU swimmers to meet BIG EAST qualifying standards.
The Pirates’ efforts on the day were highlighted by Kerrie Kolackovsky (Franklin Square, N.Y.), who put her versatility on full display as she continued her torrid run through her junior season. In three individual swims, she posted the top time in two events and added a runner-up performance.
In the sprint that is the 50-yard freestyle, the junior outswam 65 other competitors and came in under the conference cut, clocking a first-place time of 24.37 that is the fastest for a Seton Hall swimmer so far this season. Senior Alie Zelenky (Mechanicsburg, Pa.) joined her teammate near the top of the event rankings, placing fifth in 24.73.
Earlier in the 1,650-yard freestyle, Kolackovsky turned in a time of 17:19.21 that outpaced her nearest competitor by over 22 seconds and surpassed BIG EAST standards by a margin in excess of 50 seconds. In her first swim of the day, the Franklin Square native completed the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:05.61, finishing in second and just two-tenths of a second off the fastest time of the event.
She now has team-highs of 18 first-place times and BIG EAST qualifying marks in nine different events to her credit on the year. In 28 individual races that were not designated as exhibition swims, she has finished outside the top-three only once; a fourth-place effort in the 400-IM preliminaries at the Patriot Invitational.
Kolackovsky was not the only Pirate to excel in the 100-breast as SHU placed four swimmers in the top-20. Freshman Megan Mallon (Glen Mills, Pa.) finished just two-hundredths of a second off her top time in fourth with a time of 1:06.39. Zelenky turned in the 11th-quickest time and freshman Cora Meehan (Noblesville, Ind.) finished ranked 17th in the event.
Saturday was also a memorable day for sophomore Sarah Dougherty (Waterford, N.Y.) who is headed to her second consecutive BIG EAST Championship on the strength of the best 200-yard butterfly performance of the meet. Dougherty touched in 2:12.55 to book a ticket to Indianapolis and secure her first-career first-place effort in the process. Freshman Leah Mayer (London, Ontario) finished fourth in the event.
Dougherty was also among Seton Hall’s top performers in the 100-yard butterfly, placing second on the squad and 12th overall with a personal-record time of 1:01.10. Senior Andrea Shuba (Pittsburgh, Pa.) led the way for SHU in the event with a sixth-place time of 1:00.44, while freshman Rae Congdon (Ottawa, Ontario) placed 18th.
Congdon also ranked second on the team with a 14th place effort in the 500-yard freestyle, finishing right behind teammate Kate Dwyer (Freehold, N.J.) who ranked 13th overall with a time of 5:21.61.
Senior Brenna O'Keefe (Hyde Park, N.Y.) was the standout of the day for the Pirates in individual medley races, leading the team with top-10 times in both the 200 and 400-yard events. O’Keefe placed eighth in the 200-IM (2:16.31) before closing her program with a fourth-place time of 4:41.53 in the 400-IM.
Freshmen Katie Adams (Linwood, N.J.) and Gabi Levine (Garwood, N.J.) twice emerged as SHU’s top-two finishers in event, pacing The Hall in the 200-yard freestyle and 100-yard backstroke.
Levine started her day by registering the third-fastest 100-back mark of the meet, finishing in 1:00.19. The effort headlined a group of five Pirate freshmen who finished in the top-20 as Levine was followed by Adams (12th), Alexa Santis (Ijamsville, Md.) (13th), Kelly Miller (State College, Pa.) (17th) and Mayer (19th).
In the 200-free, Adams tied for another 12th place finish (2:00.01) and Levine placed 21st after reaching the wall in 2:03.34.
Levine also contributed to Seton Hall’s success in relay events, first teaming with team Kolackovsky, Zelenky and Congdon place second in the 200-yard freestyle relay. Later in the 200-medley relay, the Garwood product combined with Adams, Congdon and Megan Mostoller (Cheshire, Conn.) for a fourth-place finish.
Another freshman, Gabby Signorelli (Massapequa, N.Y.), extended her run of good form with a fifth-place showing from the one-meter board while junior Katie Riley (Newburgh, N.Y.) finished ninth among 22 divers to lead SHU from the three-meter board.
The Seton Hall women will return to competition next Friday and Saturday (2/8-2/9) in a quad-meet hosted by Rutgers University. The Pirates and Scarlet Knights will be joined in the pool by BIG EAST foes Villanova and Georgetown. Start-time is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. on Friday.
