The Valparaiso University men’s and women’s swimming teams finished up the second day of the Phoenix Fall Classic at the University of Chicago on Friday. Teams got the morning started with the preliminary events, followed by finals in the evening.

How It Happened

• The women’s relays led the day off as freshman Maddie Wright (Surprise, Ariz./Paradise Honors), junior Erica Martins (Hartland, Wis./Lake County Lutheran), junior Emily Baumgartner (Fishers, Ind./Fishers) and freshman Isabel Jenny (New Albany, Ohio/New Albany) notched a 1:51.38 finish in the preliminary round of the 200 medley relay, which currently stands as the 10^th-best time in that event in Valpo history.
• Baumgartner, Jenny, and Martins all had strong Saturdays, as Baumgartner improved her ninth-best time in program history in the 100 breast, as she got the job done in 1:09.91.
• The freshman Jenny also recorded a couple of top program finishes of her own, as her first individual event — the 200 back — vaulted her to second in Valpo history with a 2:07.69 finish, just .28 off the program record.
• She was not done there, however, as she went on to improve her third-best time in program history in the 200 IM (2:10.20), placing fifth in the meet.
• Martins recorded a 53.78 finish in the 100 free, placing seventh overall, while also pushing her into sixth in Valpo history in that event.
• The men’s events also ended with some movement in the Valpo record books, as the 200 medley relay of freshman Derek Eidson (Ventura, Calif./Ventura), freshman Billy Bennett (Libertyville, Ill./Libertyville), freshman Dominic May (Naperville, Ill./Naperville Central) and senior Mac Sogandares (Reston, Va./South Lakes) finished with the eighth-best time in program history in that event, stopping the clock at 1:36.26.
• The strong relay performances continued, as Sogandares, senior Robbie Bretl (Wauwatosa, Wisc./Wauwatosa), Dylan Kirar (Arvada, Colo. / Ralston Valley) and May went on to replicate their placement in the 200 medley, breaking into third in Valpo history in the 800 free relay with a time of 6:58.25.
• Bretl also put forth a strong effort in the 500 free, as he finished seventh overall, advancing to sixth in Valpo history with his 4:43.15 finish, which was seventh in the event.
• Later in the evening, the freshman Bennett took home fifth overall in the 100 breast, touching the wall at 58.03, a performance good for third in Valpo history for the event.
• Bennett’s freshman teammate May then capped off the evening with a good showing in the 100 free, stopping the clock at 47.16, also putting him at sixth overall in the Valpo swimming record books.

Up Next

The final slate of events for the 2018 Phoenix Fall Classic will occur on Sunday, beginning with prelims at 10 a.m. CT, followed by final events at 5 p.m. CT.