CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - In the first regular season competition in program history, University of Sioux Falls Swimming split their double dual against Northern Iowa and Quincy (Ill.) on Friday night. The Cougars took a commanding 163-73 victory over Quincy for their first-ever win but fell 146-86 to Northern Iowa.
Allison Eppinga was big for the Cougars in the program's first-ever meet, recording the only individual win and swimming the anchor leg on USF's first-place relay squad. The Saline, Mich. native posted a 2:09.65 in the 200-yard backstroke to take home the individual title and she swam the final leg of the Cougars' 200 free relay.
Ingelin Lima,
Kyjana Webber, and
Karlie Tiede combined with Eppinga for a 1:39.20 in the relay and captured the event victory.
Eppinga added a second-place finish in the 100 back at 59.06, just 0.18 behind the winner, and swam the opening-leg of the third-place 200 medley relay (1:51.79). Lima turned in two runner-up finishes in her individual races and swam the freestyle leg on USF's third-place 200 medley relay.
Lima narrowly missed on a pair of individual event victories, clocking a 24.82-second time in the 50 free and a 53.57-second run in the 100 free, both less than 0.60 behind the winner.
Kyjana Webber was fourth in both freestyle sprints, recording a 26.15-second time in the 50 free and finishing in 55.38 in the 100 free.
Distance freestyler
Mackenzie Crane posted two second-place finishes on the night, turning in a 10:49.34 in the 1,000-yard freestyle, which was 0.30 seconds behind the winner, and a 5:27.27 in the 500 free. Crane added a fifth-place finish in the 200 free at 2:07.55.
Michelle Hoffin scored for the Cougars in three individual events, posting USF's top time in the 200-yard individual medley at 2:15.82 for second place. The Prestwick, Scotland native took third in the 200 back at 2:15.51 and fourth in the 100 back at 1:02.38.
In addition to her butterfly leg on USF's third-place 200 medley relay, Doerr posted three individual top-three finishes. She finished second in the 100 butterfly at 1:01.43 just ahead of teammate
Ellen Ellis's third-place 1:02.85. Doerr also finished third in the 200 butterfly (2:13.51) and 200 free (1:59.40).
Brianna Lavelle finished third in two distances of the breaststroke, clocking a 1:12.34 in the 100 breast and 2:41.83 in the 200. Tiede finished fifth in the 200 breast at 2:55.66.
Sioux Falls returns to action with a dual at Northern State on Friday, Nov. 3 in Aberdeen, S.D.
