Union women's swimming and diving collects 11 top-three finishes at the King Invite

Kingsport, Tenn. - The Union Commonwealth University women's swimming and diving team competed at the King Invite.

UCU faced off against NCAA Division II and III teams, as well as various NAIA programs this past weekend. The Bulldogs finished third overall with 11 top-three finishes and are now ranked 10th in the NAIA and 2nd in the AAC.

Day One

Lise Puissant, Emma Phillips, Manca Petrič, and Dorottya Józsa won the 200-yard freestyle relay with a time of 1:38.70. In the 400-yard medley relay, Puissant, Sarah Graves, Józsa, and Phillips finished second in 4:04.73. 

Individually, Petrič placed third in the 500-yard freestyle (5:16.89), while Puissant came in sixth (5:26.12). Both exceeded the NAIA Championships provisional qualifying time. 

Puissant also earned another provisional qualifying time in the 200-yard IM, where she finished fourth in 2:13.70.

Day Two

Phillips earned her first NAIA Championship provisional qualifying time in the 100-yard butterfly, finishing sixth in 59.78. She also qualified in the 200-yard butterfly, placing sixth again with a time of 2:15.40. Petrič qualified in the same event with a time of 2:18.42. 

Graves took second in the 100-yard breaststroke, where she secured a provisional time of 1:10.22. In the 200-yard freestyle, Petrič placed second in 1:58.64, while Józsa came in third with a time of 2:00.63, both secured another provisional time.

Puissant recorded times of 59.68 seconds in the 100-yard backstroke and 2:14.69 in the 200-yard backstroke, times that qualify her for selection to the NAIA Championships in both events. She finished first in the 100 and fourth in the 200. 

The Bulldogs also won the 200-yard medley relay with Puissant, Graves, Phillips, and Józsa. They finished in 1:50.97. 

In the 100 freestyle, Phillips and Józsa both had provisional qualifying times, with Phillips taking first at 54.43 seconds and Joza finishing third with a time of 55.12 second

The final first-place finish was achieved in the 400-yard freestyle relay, where Puissant, Józsa, Phillips, and Petrič recorded a time of 3:36.20.

Next up for Union women's swimming and diving is an away meet against the University of the Cumberlands on Friday, Oct. 18, at 5:00 p.m.