St. Mary’s Rolls Past Salisbury
Christine DiMenna
St. Mary's City, Md. - The St. Mary's College of Maryland women's swim team captured all but two events as the Seahawks snapped their two-meet losing skid with a dominating 133-72 triumph over Salisbury University in St. Mary's regular-season finale Saturday afternoon.
Sophomore Katie Fitzenreiter (Columbia, Md./Atholton) was part of one of Salisbury's (4-5, 3-3 CAC) two event wins as Fitzenreiter captured the 500 freestyle in 5:32.35 and then the Sea Gulls claimed the 200 free relay.
The trio of freshman Kelly Heyde (Wilton, Conn./Wilton), senior Rachel Hotchko (Yakima, Wash./A.C. Davis), and junior captain Sofia Sokolove (Bethesda, Md./Bethesda-Chevy Chase) paced the Seahawks (7-3, 4-1 CAC) in the win as Heyde won three events while Hotchko and Sokolove each picked up two individual wins.
Heyde started off the meet with a first-place finish in the 1000 freestyle in 11:12.52 and followed that up with a first-place finish in the 200 freestyle as she led a 1-2-3 finish. Heyde nabbed a first-place finish as well in the 200 butterfly.
Heyde claimed the 200 free in 2:03.01 followed by freshman Maddie Casey (Rockville, Md./T.S. Wootton) in second (2:05.47) and senior captain Monika Disque (Annapolis, Md./Annapolis) in third (2:08.03).
Hotchko captured both the 50 and 100 freestyle events while joining Disque, Sokolove, and freshman Melanie Bloch (Bethesda, Md./French International) in leading the Seahawks to a win in the 200 medley relay in 1:55.21.
Hotchko edged Bloch by 0.10 for first in the 50 free (25.56) while Bloch came in second. Hotchko swam a 55.54 to win the 100 free.
Sokolove claimed the 200 individual medley in 2:18.91 while leading a 1-2 finish in the 200 breaststroke. Sokolove finished first in 2:33.28 followed by sophomore Amanda Pazouki (Silver Spring, Md./John F. Kennedy) in second (2:33.66).
Sophomore Katelyn Grue (Ellicott City, Md./Mount de Sales Academy) finished second in the 500 free in 5:39.48 followed by Casey in third (5:43.20) and senior Laura VanBlargan (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) in fourth (5:45.22).
The Seahawks will be out of the pool until Valentine's Day weekend when St. Mary's hosts the CAC Men's and Women's Swimming Championships on February 12, 13, and 14.
