Wednesday, March 8
Birmingham, Ala.
8:30 AM
California Baptist University
vs
NCAA Division II Championships
Photo by: Andrew Shortall
Seniors Sent Off in Style
3/11/2017 10:10:00 AM | Women's Swimming and Diving, Swimming and Diving
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Alena Rumiantceva wanted to end her collegiate career in style and did so with a runner-up finish in her signature event on the final day of the NCAA Division II Championships.
A total of four All-American honored performances helped elevate CBU to a 14th-place finish in Division II with 125 points, an impressive comeback after it ended day one of nationals in 17th place. Overall, the Lancers men and women combined for 25 All-American awards (21 individual and four relay) on the week.
"It was a nice closing point for the ladies and overall it was a really good day," Coach Rick Rowland said. "I think we put some solid points on the board. It was a great day to be a Lancer over at the D-II Festival."
Rumiantceva, a senior, provided the moment of the week for the Lancers when she finished second in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of two minutes, 13.38 seconds.
"That was a huge effort by her and a pretty solid time," Coach Rick Rowland said. "She was very happy to finish runner-up and it was a nice way for her to end her career. It brought in some big points for us."
Lauren Skinner capped her collegiate career with a seventh-place finish on the 3-meter board, with 424.45 points. It was the first top-eight finish in Division II in Skinner's career.
Christie Halverson, a junior, added another All-American honorable mention on the final day of the season by taking 14th in the 1650 freestyle, with a time of 17:04.72. It was nearly four seconds better than her seeded time of (17:08.30).
Breanne Schlenger ended her career as a two-time honored All-American this week, taking ninth on the 3-meter board (413.20) and just missing out on finals by three points. It was an emotional day for Dive Coach Jeff Couto, knowing it was the last meet for two pillars of the diving program in seniors Skinner and Schlenger.
"It's nice to have a core group of women like Bre and Lauren to establish the diving program," Couto said. "They are the staple and part of the foundation here. I know they're going to be so excited when up and coming women are able to beat those records, that's what's exciting, they are for the team and not themselves.
"I couldn't be more encouraged by their results. Lauren and Bre came in as freshmen together and now go out as top-10 seniors, you can't write it much better than that. They each hold records here, they are going to be extremely hard to replace because they have built such a strong foundation."
Halverson and a trio of seniors: Kristina Tchernyshev, Hailey Golden and Hannah Evans finished 21st in the division in the 400-free relay (3:28.54). Several other seniors turned in strong final performances for CBU. Kylie Mihld finished 25th in all of D-II in the 200 backstroke, with a time of 2:03.84, and Evans and Tchernyshev wound up 38th (51.96) and 44th (52.63) in the 100 free.
RESULTS
A total of four All-American honored performances helped elevate CBU to a 14th-place finish in Division II with 125 points, an impressive comeback after it ended day one of nationals in 17th place. Overall, the Lancers men and women combined for 25 All-American awards (21 individual and four relay) on the week.
"It was a nice closing point for the ladies and overall it was a really good day," Coach Rick Rowland said. "I think we put some solid points on the board. It was a great day to be a Lancer over at the D-II Festival."
Rumiantceva, a senior, provided the moment of the week for the Lancers when she finished second in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of two minutes, 13.38 seconds.
"That was a huge effort by her and a pretty solid time," Coach Rick Rowland said. "She was very happy to finish runner-up and it was a nice way for her to end her career. It brought in some big points for us."
Lauren Skinner capped her collegiate career with a seventh-place finish on the 3-meter board, with 424.45 points. It was the first top-eight finish in Division II in Skinner's career.
Christie Halverson, a junior, added another All-American honorable mention on the final day of the season by taking 14th in the 1650 freestyle, with a time of 17:04.72. It was nearly four seconds better than her seeded time of (17:08.30).
Breanne Schlenger ended her career as a two-time honored All-American this week, taking ninth on the 3-meter board (413.20) and just missing out on finals by three points. It was an emotional day for Dive Coach Jeff Couto, knowing it was the last meet for two pillars of the diving program in seniors Skinner and Schlenger.
"It's nice to have a core group of women like Bre and Lauren to establish the diving program," Couto said. "They are the staple and part of the foundation here. I know they're going to be so excited when up and coming women are able to beat those records, that's what's exciting, they are for the team and not themselves.
"I couldn't be more encouraged by their results. Lauren and Bre came in as freshmen together and now go out as top-10 seniors, you can't write it much better than that. They each hold records here, they are going to be extremely hard to replace because they have built such a strong foundation."
Halverson and a trio of seniors: Kristina Tchernyshev, Hailey Golden and Hannah Evans finished 21st in the division in the 400-free relay (3:28.54). Several other seniors turned in strong final performances for CBU. Kylie Mihld finished 25th in all of D-II in the 200 backstroke, with a time of 2:03.84, and Evans and Tchernyshev wound up 38th (51.96) and 44th (52.63) in the 100 free.
RESULTS
Players Mentioned
Free
/ Women's Swimming and Diving
Free
/ Women's Swimming and Diving
Backstroke
/ Women's Swimming and Diving
Breaststroke
/ Women's Swimming and Diving
Dive
/ Women's Swimming and Diving
Dive
/ Women's Swimming and Diving
Fly/Free
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