Gophers Close Out First Semester at Salisbury

SALISBURY, Md. - The Goucher College men's and women's swimming teams closed out the first semester Saturday as they swam against Salisbury University.  The Sea Gull women prevailed 164-96 while Salisbury's men posted a 170-42 win.

For the women, freshman Ella Robinson (Canajoharie, N.Y. / Canajoharie) took home three individual first place finishes and was also part of a first place relay squad.  Robinson was first in the 50-meter breaststroke (37.56), the 50 meter freestyle (29.20) and the 100-meter breaststroke (1:20.37).  Robinson was also the second leg of the Gopher 200-meter medley relay squad that opened the afternoon with a time of 2:14.50 to take first.  Joining Robinson were Kelci Wood (Spencer, Ind. / Owen Valley), Alejandra Barry-Ruiz (New Haven, Conn./Amity) and Olivia Reichardt (Monument, Colo./Palmer).

Darcy McFarland (East Hampton, N.Y./East Hampton) took first place in the 50-meter backstroke with a time of 34.17 seconds, besting Wood who swam in 34.94 to take second.

Reichardt and Salisbury's Jordan Degruchy finished in a dead heat for first in the 50 meter butterfly, with posting a time of 33.02 seconds.  McFarland placed third just 0.26 seconds back.

Barry-Ruiz placed second in the 100-meter butterfly with a time of 1:14.06.  Wood and Reichardt were 2-3 in the 100-meter free with Wood posting a time of 1:06.74 and Reichardt swimming a 1:07.99.

The women's 200-meter freestyle relay placed second with a time of 2:00.80, just 0.48 seconds behind the winning Sea Gull entry.  The squad consisted of Wood, Reichardt, Barry-Ruiz and Avery McEachern (Cincinnati, Ohio/Summit Country Day).

For the Gopher men, Jackson Penner (Newille, Pa. / Big Spring) finished first in the 100-meter freestyle with a time of 57.21 seconds.  He also placed second in the 50-meter backstroke (32.21) and 100-meter backstroke (1:18.88).

The 200-meter medley team of Penner, Richie Bialik (New City, N.Y./Clarkstown), Sean Swanson (Los Angeles, Calif./New Roads) and Liam McDonald (Cary, N.C./Saint Francis) was second with a 2:17.66 effort.

Goucher is off until Saturday, January 15 when it travels to Susquehanna.