Valparaiso University's women's swimming and diving team is in sixth place after the opening day of competition at the Midwest Classic Championships held in Indianapolis, Ind. on Thursday.

The Crusaders tallied 85 points on the first of three days of action, and trail fifth place IUPUI by 24 points. Miami (Ohio) leads the competition with 215 points, followed by Northern Colorado with 163 points. Eastern Illinois is third with 136 points, with Western Illinois in fourth place tallying 126 points.

The Brown and Gold opened the finals session with a sixth place finish in the 200 freestyle relay. The team of Amanda Gregory (Carmel, Ind./Carmel H.S.), Sarah Deardorff (Arlington Heights, Ill./Buffalo Grove H.S.), Daniella Trombatore (Redding, Calif./Shasta H.S.), and Leigh Schneider (Sussex, Wis./Arrowhead H.S.) touched the wall in 1:40.98.

In the individual 500 free, Britt Nelson (Cortland, N.Y./Homer H.S.) turned in Valpo's top effort of the evening, placing 12th with a time of 5:18.84. Maggie Kroemer (Brown Deer, Wis./Milwaukee Lutheran H.S.) also scored for the Crusaders with her 14th place time of 5:24.88.

The 200 individual medley saw Valpo place its only individual in the top heat of finals. Ashley Seale (Maryville, Tenn./Maryville H.S.) wound up in seventh place with a time of 2:14.70. Allison Clark (Shorewood, Wis./Shorewood H.S.) finished 11th in the same event, touching the wall in a time of 2:16.03.

Valpo also scored a pair of individuals in the 50 free. Schneider finished in 12th position with a time of 25.36 seconds, while Gregory was just .33 seconds behind in 15th place.

The evening wrapped up with the 400 medley relay, where the Brown and Gold finished in sixth place. Lauren Bambach (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman H.S.), Clark, Seale, and Schneider finished in 4:10.14.

Valpo will dive back into the pool on Friday for day two of competition. Preliminary heats begin at 9 a.m. CST with finals slated for 5 p.m. CST.