Union women’s swimming and diving places third at the Bulldog Invite

Barbourville, Ky. - The Union Commonwealth University women's swimming team competed at the Bulldog Invite last week. The Bulldogs placed third overall with a score of 568.

With both teams combined, Union placed second overall with a score of 1,280.50 points. The Bulldogs faced off against NAIA programs and NCAA Division II teams at the invite. These teams included Mars Hill University, King University, WVU Institute of Technology, Emory and Henry University, Shawnee State University, and Lees-McRae College.

The team of Lise Puissant, Emma Phillips, Manca Petrič, and Dorottya Józsa placed first in the 800-yard freestyle relay. They had a time of 7:42.07.

Petrič claimed first in the 500-yard freestyle with an "A" cut time of 5:01.68, while Puissant (5:14.29) and Józsa (5:19.43) both earned National "B" cuts in the same event.

In the 200 IM, Phillips secured first place with a time of 2:07.70, recording a "B" cut. The quartet of Puissant, Phillips, Petrič, and Józsa also captured first in the 200-yard medley relay with a time of 1:49.54.

Phillips added another first-place finish in the 400 IM with a National "B" cut time of 4:36.70. Petrič continued by winning the 100 butterfly with a "B" cut time of 57.24.

Józsa claimed first in the 200 freestyle, posting a National "B" cut time of 1:56.31. In the 100 breaststroke, Sarah Graves (1:09.08) and Giulia Liberti (1:10.52) both achieved National "B" cuts.

Puissant captured first in the 100 backstroke, recording a "B" cut time of 58.87. The Bulldogs' dominance in relays continued as Puissant, Phillips, Petrič, and Józsa won the 400 medley relay with a time of 3:59.78.

Petrič recorded a "B" cut time of 18:13.79 in the 1650 freestyle. Józsa placed second in the 100 freestyle with a "B" cut time of 53.72, while Puissant added a "B" cut in the same event with a time of 54.07.

Phillips earned a second-place finish in the 200 breaststroke, swimming a "B" cut time of 2:26.46. Graves also achieved a "B" cut in the event with a time of 2:33.43. The meet concluded with another first-place relay finish, as Petrič, Phillips, Puissant, and Józsa won the 400 freestyle relay in 3:35.69.

In diving, Graves claimed first place in the one-meter dive with a "B" cut score of 193.00, followed by Sami Sierocki in second with a score of 160.75. Graves repeated her performance in the three-meter dive with another first-place finish and a "B" cut score of 212.85, while Sierocki took second with a score of 145.75

Next up for Union women's swimming and diving is the Toyota U.S. Open on Wednesday, Dec. 4.