Panthers get their feet wet in Inland Empire

ORANGE, Calif. - The Chapman University swimming and diving team opened its 2010-11 season on Saturday and received some strong performances from some veterans and newcomers alike. Senior Julia Fish was the top swimmer for the Panthers at the Redlands Invitational. Meanwhile, freshman Kiernan Gilbert placed fourth in the 3-meter diving competition at Cal Baptist.

In Redlands, Fish was Chapman's top finisher in both the 200-yard freestyle (2:06.60) and 200-yard individual medley (2:22.56), placing 14th in the 200 IM. The veteran also placed ninth in the 200-yard backstroke (2:23.02), finishing just a shade behind Chapman sophomore Amanda Morris who placed eighth in the event with a time of 2:22.88.

Besides her top-10 finish in the 200 backstroke, Morris also finished with Chapman's best time in the 50-yard freestyle sprint with a time of 27.04.

Junior swimmer Jamie Krispel made an impressive debut for Chapman with team-best times in the 100-yard freestyle (58.29) and a seventh-place finish in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:12.59). Junior Alex Chan, who swam the 100-free just .54 seconds behind Krispel, earned a ninth-place finish in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 1:04.18.

The Chapman women placed fifth in the five-school event with just 44 total points. Cal Baptist won the event with 440 points overall.

Over in Riverside, Chapman's diving team placed second out of five teams at the Cal Baptist Invite, thanks to balanced scoring from all three of its divers. Cal Baptist won the event with an overall score of 101 points, but Panthers were close behind with 80 points.

Gilbert captured a fourth-place finish in the 3-meter competition and a fifth-place finish in the 1-meter with overall scores of 175.35 and 186.45, respectively. It was her first collegiate diving meet.

Senior Sarah Snyder placed fifth in the 3-meter with a total score of 178.70 and junior Fernanda Gallo Moreno was a top-10 finisher in both events as well, to round out the scoring for Chapman.

by Doug Aiken
Sports Information Director

Results:
Swimming: http://www.chapmanathletics.com/sports/wswimdive/2010-11/files/RedlandsInvite.pdf
Diving: http://www.chapmanathletics.com/sports/wswimdive/2010-11/files/CBUDiveInvite.pdf