St. Mary's City, Md. – St. Mary's College of Maryland women's swimming closed out their final Capital Athletic Conference regular-season meet against Salisbury University Saturday afternoon. The Seahawks (6-5, 3-2 CAC) came in first place when it mattered most, the 200 freestyle relay, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat with a 103-102 win over Salisbury (4-5, 3-2 CAC).
Down 96-92 heading into the meet's final event, the 200 freestyle relay, St. Mary's came out swinging. Sophomore Elizabeth Straathof (Bethesda, Md./Walter Johnson), first-year Samantha Schoenecker (Dallas, Texas/Woodrow Wilson), and senior captains Cara Machlin (Rockville, Md./Walter Johnson) and Zoe McIlmail (Frederick, Md./Urbana) led the Seahawks to regular-season finale victory by dominating the meet's final relay with a winning time of 1:44.34, besting Salisbury by nearly five seconds.
Straathof and Machlin paced St. Mary's in the win with three first-place honors each while McIlmail claimed a pair of gold medals. Schoenecker and first-year Hailley Baughman (Lineboro, Md./Manchester Valley) tallied a win apiece.
Straathof took the lead for the Seahawks in the 50 freestyle (25.41) and the 100 freestyle (55.79) events.
Machlin and first-year Elizabeth Valenti (Gaithersburg, Md./Quince Orchard) posted a 1-2 finish in the 1,000 freestyle. Machlin came in first with a time of 11:07.59 while Valenti was second in 11:16.86. In addition, Machlin took gold in the 100 butterfly in 1:02.01 as she edged the Sea Gulls' second-place finisher by five-hundredths of a second.
McIlmail guided St. Mary's in the 200 freestyle and tallied a time of 2:00.19 to earn one of the team's seven gold medals. She would help round out the score with a second-place spot in the 500 freestyle with a time of 5:30.86.
The final individual gold medal for the Seahawks resulted from Baughman's strong swim in the 100 breaststroke. She led a 1-2 finish in the event as Baughman took first place in 1.12.70 followed shortly thereafter by Valenti who cleared a time of 1:12.98 for second.
The Seahawks were also victorious in the 200 medley relay, receiving second place to start off the meet (1:57.49). Senior captain Karlie Straight (Ocean City, Md./Stephen Decatur), Baughman, sophomore Rachel Sonnenberg (Derwood, Md./Magruder), and Schoenecker competed on the relay with Schoenecker posting the fastest split (26.42).
Additionally, Straight collected the team's highest finishes in the 200 individual medley and the 100 backstroke. She was second in 200 IM in 2:21.97 while placing third in the 100 back in 1:04.19.
The Seahawks will return to action on February 19-21 as St. Mary's hosts the Capital Athletic Conference Men's and Women's Swimming Championships.
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