The NMU swimming and diving team has kept themselves busy over vacation as they gear up to compete in the annual Wildcat Intrasquad meet.
The Wildcats took a vacation made up of training and competing southbound as they travelled to Puerto Rico, competing on Saturday, Jan. 5 at the San Juan Invitational. NMU became the first Division II team to win the meet, scoring 42.5 team points.
NMU head coach Heidi Voigt said the team took advantage of training in a warmer climate and, in the end, it paid off.
“Puerto Rico was wonderful,” Voigt said. “We swam and worked out quite a bit, and the mix of classes was good for us to use while getting ready for conference meets.”
The ’Cats placed first in many important events, including the 200-meter medley relay team. The team won the race with a time of 2:07.46. Sophomore Emily Bourguignon contributed a first place finish, winning the 100-meter freestyle in 1:09.09. Bourguignon also placed second in the 100-meter backstroke, finishing with a time of 1:10.27.
“Emily swam really strong,” Voigt said. “She really came after it, and did really well. In the end, we all did very well on the road.”
Bourguignon earned 13 points for the team, tying for the individual lead of the meet.
In the 100-meter breaststroke, three Wildcats earned top 10 finishes. Freshman Caitlyn Brenden earned fourth place, while senior Olga Budiansky earned sixth and sophomore Emily Brennan earned ninth. Brennan and sophomore Debbi Lawrence placed in the top 10 for the 200-meter individual medley, with Brennan placing fourth and Lawrence in ninth. Sophomore Madisen Sechena led the 200 for the Wildcats, taking second place.
In the 100-meter butterfly, freshman Crystal Bennet swam at 1:06.44 to place second in the event while also placing fifth in the 50-meter freestyle. Sechena also competed in the 100-meter butterfly, taking fourth.
Sechena said the meet helped the team experience something new while the Wildcats look towards the future.
“It was very different, mainly because of the pool size,” Sechena said. “There were some pretty good teams there, and the training was tough.”
The team returns home to tMarquette pool to compete in the Wildcat Intrasquad meet this weekend. The competition will also mark Senior Day for the team, as the ’Cats will honor their senior athletes.
Sechena said the meet will let the team get closer to reaching some goals while competing in different events.
“We never get to swim 50-meter races, so that will be exciting,” Sechena said. “Some people on our team can probably break pool records, so that will be something to look forward to.”
The Wildcat Intrasquad meet takes place at 11:00 am on Saturday, Jan. 19 at the PEIF pool.
