Mathus Strong, But Leathernecks Derailed By Slow Start

Sophomore places in top two twice, Western Illinois women drop dual meet with Omaha

MEET RESULTS

OMAHA – Miranda Mathus placed in the top two in a pair of different events Friday (Jan. 26), but the Western Illinois women's swimming team got off to a slow start in a dual meet loss to Omaha, 139-84.

"Today was a bit rough to start for most of the team," said head coach Greg Naumann. "We definitely needed to warm up with a bit more to shake off the six-hour bus trip. I was pleased as the women's team started to get things moving further into the meet. It is always a little different for us when we have a women's only meet because they don't have nearly as much time to recover between their races."

Mathus blazed to the Leathernecks' first individual win by touching to a 1:02.08 time in the 100-back. She was trailed by Taylor Winkel's 1:03.18 mark and Madison Chao's 1:04.46 mark for second and third, respectively.

A Peoria, Ill., native, Mathus' 1:59.04 time was good for second in the 200-free.

Erica Hagen continued her strong season with another individual win, racing to a 1:06.81 time in the 100-breast for first place. Brittany Erickson's 1:14.71 swim was good for second.

Amanda Schaefer (5:31.53) and Hannah Fisher (5:42.97) timed for first and second, respectively, in the 500-free. Kathryn Ferguson registered third in 6:11.25.

Casey Roberts compiled a 55.03 to narrowly miss out on the top two spots in the 100-free. The Naperville, Ill., native placed third in the event.

Western Illinois' 400-free relay team of Dana Kadftan, Megan Carver, Allison DeWane and Roberts collected first with a time of 3:50.97.

The Leatherneck women will join with the Western Illinois men for a dual meet at noon Saturday (Jan. 27) at South Dakota.

"We're starting to narrow down our event focus for each swimmer as we close in on The Summit League Championships," Naumann said. "I expect that we will start to see some fresher swims tomorrow at South Dakota, and then even more at Iowa next week."

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Players Mentioned

Allison DeWane: Sprint Free; Sophomore; Woodstock

Brittany Erickson: Breaststroke; Junior; West

Kathryn Ferguson: Distance; Sophomore; John F. Kennedy

Hannah Fisher: Distance/Fly; Sophomore; Peoria Notre Dame

Taylor Winkel: Back; Sophomore; Lincoln

Erica Hagen: Breast/Sprint Free; Freshman; Lisle

Amanda Schaefer: Distance; Freshman; Arrowhead

Players Mentioned

Allison DeWane
: Sophomore; Woodstock
: Sprint Free

Brittany Erickson
: Junior; West
: Breaststroke

Kathryn Ferguson
: Sophomore; John F. Kennedy
: Distance

Hannah Fisher
: Sophomore; Peoria Notre Dame
: Distance/Fly

Taylor Winkel
: Sophomore; Lincoln
: Back

Erica Hagen
: Freshman; Lisle
: Breast/Sprint Free

Amanda Schaefer
: Freshman; Arrowhead
: Distance