Saturday, January 22, 2005

Valparaiso won seven events on Saturday afternoon, but Eastern Illinois' depth prevailed as the Panthers defeated the Crusaders 125.5-113.5 in Charleston, Ill.

Britt Nelson (Cortland, N.Y./Homer H.S.) won a pair of events for the Brown and Gold. She began by winning the 200 freestyle with a time of 2:00.84. She followed that up with a win in the 500 free with a mark of 5:16.77.

Maggie Kroemer (Brown Deer, Wis./Milwaukee Lutheran H.S.) posted a four-second triumph for the Crusaders in the 1000 free with a time of 11:10.55, while Ashley Seale (Maryville, Tenn./Maryville H.S.) notched a win in the 100 butterfly, touching the wall in 1:01.22.

Lauren Bambach (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman H.S.) tallied the other individual victory for Valpo with a time of 1:03.66 in the 100 backstroke.

The Crusaders also won the 400 medley relay as Bambach, Allison Clark (Shorewood, Wis./Shorewood H.S.), Leah Schneider (Sussex, Wis./Arrowhead H.S.), and Amanda Gregory (Carmel, Ind./Carmel H.S.) posted a time of 4:12.45.

The Crusaders concluded the meet with a win in the 400 free relay as well, as the team of Nelson, Rachel Korellis (Champaign, Ill./Centennial H.S.), Katie Jajtner (Port Washington, Wis./Port Washington H.S.), and Seale touched the wall first.

Valpo (2-5) will return to action next Saturday as the Crusaders head to Cleveland State for a 1 p.m. CST meet.