The Valpo men's and women's swimming teams closed out a busy weekend of action at the Valparaiso Aquatic Center on Saturday afternoon with a tri-meet against Bellarmine and Eastern Illinois. The Beacon women made it three wins on the weekend as they took down EIU.
 
How It Happened

• Sophomore Bri Keese (Brighton, Colo./Brighton) was the Beacons' top performer on Saturday as she posted a pair of third-place finishes in the springs. Keese came home with a time of 25.52 in the 50 free and 56.66 in the 100 free, both team bests.
• Sophomore Kailyn Benoit (Sussex, Wis./Hamilton) touched the wall third in the 100 fly with a time of 1:00.67, while senior Sara Strauss (Spring Lake, Mich./Spring Lake) led the Beacon contingent in the 100 breast, placing third with a time of 1:09.78.
• Keese was one of three Valpo women to lead the squad in multiple events. Freshman Ally Unruh (Peoria, Ill./Dunlap) paced the Beacons in the 1000 free (11:08.96) and the 500 free (5:29.30), while sophomore Lily Kirkpatrick (Parker, Colo./Legend) posted team-best times in the 200 free (2:04.77) and the 100 back (1:02.64).
• Keese and Kirkpatrick swam the first two legs of Valpo's 400 free relay, with senior Haley Hume (Ballwin, Mo./Marquette) and sophomore Faith Bargwell (Grand Rapids, Mich./Rockford) completing the back half as the Beacons placed second with a time of 3:48.52.
• On the men's side, junior Jackson Oostman (Aurora, Ill./Marmion Academy) led the way as he touched second in both the 200 IM (1:56.62) and the 100 back (52.44).
• Junior Garrett Hoppman (Midland, Texas/Midland) added his own runner-up finish as well with a time of 52.28 in the 100 fly.
• The Valpo women beat Eastern Illinois for the second straight season in dual meet competition, downing the Panthers 113-92, while Bellarmine topped the Beacon women, 158-47. On the men's side, the Beacons fell by scores of 100-88 to Eastern Illinois and 150-38 to Bellarmine.

 
Next Up
Valpo continues its fall season next Saturday afternoon with a dual meet at Green Bay. The first event is slated for a 2 p.m. start.