The Valpo men’s and women’s swimming teams hosted a home meet on Friday night against the Evansville Purple Aces, the first home meet of the season for Valpo. Senior Paige Wright (Surprise Ariz./Paradise Honors) and freshman Mikayla DePover (Rock Island, Ill./Rock Island) led the Brown and Gold, as both won two individual events and were part of a winning relay as well.

How It Happened

• Valpo’s first win of the day came in the women’s 200 medley relay, with the team of Wright, DePover, senior Erica Martins (Hartland, Wis./Lake County Lutheran), and sophomore Chiara Robinson (Castle Pines, Colo./Rock Canyon). The team clocked a time of 1:51.56.
• Wright’s impressive day continued as she won the 200 free, stopping the clock at 1:56.43. Wright concluded her day by winning the 500 free, posting a time of 5:13.45 – just .13 outside of Valpo’s all-time top-10 in the event
• DePover joined Wright with two individual wins to go with the relay triumph. The rookie picked up her first individual win of the day in the 100 butterfly with a time of 1:00.33, and followed later in the meet with a time of 1:07.98 to win the 100 breaststroke. The latter time improved upon her season-best time, which ranks sixth in program history.
• Freshman Morgan Markley (Bluffton, Ind./Norwell) picked up a first-place individual finish as well, winning the 50 free with a time of 25.51.
• The team of Markley, junior Mariah Sturdivant (Chicago, Ill./George Westinghouse Prep.), Robinson and Martins won the 200 free relay for the Brown and Gold with a time of 1:40.27.
• On the men’s side, the team of sophomore Derek Eidson (Ventura, Calif./Ventura), sophomore Billy Bennett (Libertyville, Ill./Libertyville), sophomore Dominic May (Naperville, Ill./Naperville Central), and freshman Adam Chwieros (Lake Villa, Ill./Grayslake North) placed second in the 200 medley relay, posting a time of 1:38.45. .
• Bennett notched the only first-place finish for the men by winning the 100 breaststroke (59.64).
• Freshman Brian Daniels (Brookfield, Wis./Brookfield East) picked up a second-place finish in the 1000 free (10:12.46), while Eidson placed second in the 200 IM, stopping the clock at 2:01.88.
• Evansville won the scoring on both sides, as the women fell 106-99 and the men fell 154-51.

Up Next

Valpo will be back on the road as the team travels to Youngstown, Ohio to battle Youngstown State on Saturday, Nov.2. The events are scheduled to begin at noon CT.