Wheaton, Ill. -- Saturday was Senior Day inside Lederhouse Natatorium as the Wheaton swim & dive teams recognized their veteran student-athletes for their time with the program. But there was also the matter of a conference dual meet to settle, and the Augustana Vikings provided today's opposition. The Thunder eventually emerged victorious on both sides of the meet, with the women's squad defeating Augie by a score of 121-80 and the Wheaton men winning 113-92. Both Thunder teams finish the regular season with perfect 3-0 marks in CCIW duals this season.
Senior
Abby Pardridge enjoyed a triumphant send-off this afternoon, topping the field in her 100 yard backstroke race while also being part of both of the Wheaton women's victorious relay teams. Pardridge joined up with
Elli Bennett,
Carolyn Bubar, and
Sophie Pelling to take first place in the opening event of the day, the 200 yard medley, before later teaming up with Pelling, Bubar, and
Katie Yonan to win the final event of the women's meet, the 200 yard freestyle relay.
Fellow senior Bennett joined Pardridge on one individual event win to go with their shared relay title, winning her 100 yard breaststroke competition. Relay teammate Pelling beat out eight competitors to take top honors in the 50 yard freestyle sprint. Yonan also snagged solo wins on Saturday, capturing first in the 200 yard freestyle event as the only swimmer to complete it in less than two minutes. She later topped the field in the 100 yard equivalent, as well, edging out an Augie competitor by .44 seconds. Bubar came in second in the 100 yard butterfly, touching the wall two seconds behind her Vikings counterpart.
Saturday's competition began as many of the Wheaton men's events have this season - with a Thunder quartet winning the relay race. Seniors Abe Plimpton and Kael Gannon joined forces with Anthony Fitzgerald and AJ Staiti to take first place in the 200 yard medley. Gannon would later end the day's schedule by teaming up with Elijah Chen, Harrison Smith, and Michael O'Connor to earn runner-up status in the 200 yard freestyle relay.
Smith celebrated a solo event win along with the Senior Day festivities by claiming first place in the 500 yard freestyle as the only participant to complete the race in under five minutes. Fitzgerald notched two more individual wins this afternoon, taking top spot in the 200 yard IM as the only swimmer to touch the wall in less than two minutes before later winning the 100 yard breaststroke, the final solo event of the day.
O'Connor topped the field in his 1000 yard freestyle event, winning by a comfortable 16-second margin. Fellow junior AJ Staiti won his 100 yard butterfly swim, and Connor Davis did likewise in the 100 yard backstroke, edging out his Augie challenger by just .08 seconds.
After earning a home sweep to send the seniors out on the best possible note, the Thunder squads can begin to prepare for the conference championships. The diving and swimming competitions are scheduled to be held in mid-February in Kenosha and Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin.
