USC’s trip to Bloomington produced a steady pile of podiums and four event wins, with the Trojans stacking up 16 top-three finishes in Friday’s double dual against Indiana and Kentucky at the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatics Center.
The Women of Troy went 1-1 on the day, knocking off Kentucky 159.5-140.5 while taking a 205-95 loss to No. 5 Indiana.
USC’s men were beaten by both opponents, falling 199-100 to No. 20 Kentucky and 221-79 to No.
2 Indiana.
Minna Abraham set the tone for the women, starting USC’s list of wins by leading a 1-2 finish in the 200y free. The senior won in 1:43.76, with sophomore Dora Molnar right behind her in 1:46.77.
Sage Miller followed with another women’s victory, taking the 200y fly in 1:57.06 and edging Kentucky’s Billie Sherratt. Freshman Brigitta Vass then delivered USC’s third women’s win, claiming the 200y breast in 2:10.59. She also added a third-place finish in the 100y breast at 1:00.93.
Abraham wasn’t done after her opening win. She also finished second in the 200y IM in 1:57.84. Molnar added a third-place effort in the 100y free with a 49.79, while Lindsay Barnes turned in a pair of top-three swims, placing second in the 100y back in 53.50 and third in the 200y back in 1:55.98.
The Women of Troy also got a third-place finish from freshman Ludo Di Maria in the 50y free, where she touched in 23.00. USC opened the meet with a runner-up finish in the 200y medley relay, as Abraham, Vass, Miller and Bella Brito posted a 1:37.43.
USC’s men found their lone victory through Michal Chmielewski, who won the 100y fly in 45.79. He beat Indiana’s Raekwon Noel by six hundredths of a second.
Freshman Andrew Maksymowski added a second-place finish in the 200y free with a 1:35.41, while Junhao Chan produced two top-three swims in the breaststroke events, taking third in the 100y breast in 52.42 and second in the 200y breast in 1:54.68.
Chmielewski also helped USC close the meet on the men’s side, joining Oliver Sogaard-Andersen, Maksymowski and Emil Schmidt on a third-place 400y free relay that finished in 2:54.39.
The Trojans’ diving group made its season debut in Bloomington as well. Freshman Ruben Del Prado Puente stood out on 1-meter with an exhibition score of 334.35, the second-highest mark of the competition. The USC women were led on the boards by a fifth-place finish on 1-meter from 241.65, while Luc Goertzen was the Trojans’ top scorer on both men’s boards.
A handful of Trojans will return to action next week at the Short Course World Championships Selection Meet in Westmont, Ill. That meet is set for Oct. 28-31 at FMC Natatorium.
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