ST. GEORGE, Utah – The Pepperdine women's swim and dive team won one title and set two new school records on the first day of the PCSC Championships, opening up a lead at the event hosted by Dixie State University.
Through the first day, the Waves lead the competition with 202 points, followed closely behind by UC Santa Cruz with 184 points.
Kara Coughlin (Evergreen, Colo./Evergreen HS),
Olivia Kayye (Chapel Hill, N.C./East Chapel Hill HS),
Emma Purdy (Truckee, Calif./Truckee HS) and
Jenna Sanchez (Highland, Calif./East Redlands Valley HS) won a PCSC championship in the 200-medley relay while setting a new school record after a 1:43.94 performance.
Additionally,
Paulina Holmberg (Apple Valley, Minn./Academy of Holy Angels) set a school record in the 3-meter diving preliminaries with a score of 271.60.
MEET RECAP
Kayye ended her stellar career in the 1000 freestyle by placing second with a time of 10:34.88, netting Pepperdine 28 points. Additionally, in the 1000 free,
Ellie Hendren (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Mountain Vista HS) cracked the all-time top-10 list with a 10:41.19 time after placing fifth overall, earning 25 points for the Waves.
In the final event of the day, the 800 free relay, Pepperdine's team of
Lindsay Hemming (Orinda, Calif./Miramonte HS),
Paige Tattersall (Granite Bay, Calif./Granite Bay HS),
Emily Morton (Golden, Colo./Lakewood HS) and
McKenzie Kelly (San Diego, Calif./La Jolla Country Day School/California Baptist) took second place with a time of 7:35.15.
Pepperdine went 3-4-5 in the 3-meter diving on Wednesday as
Lexie Martin (Keller, Texas/Keller HS),
Bri Cannon (Katy, Texas/Katy HS) and Holmberg finished with overall scores of 255.00, 241.15 and 230.00, respectively. All five divers qualified for the finals, which included
Anna Johnson (East Lyme, Conn./East Lyme HS) and
Gianna May (Arcadia, Calif./Arcadia HS).
QUOTABLE
Diving coach
Monique Demaisip said: "All of our divers put together strong performances today, securing five out of the top eight spots in our conference. Since I started at Pepperdine, these ladies have put in the hours and have trusted the process. I honestly couldn't be prouder. On day one, they have already accomplished several individual and team goals, and it feels great to see their hard work come to fruition.
"Usually, our meets kick off with one meter, so this was a new experience for the team, but it was still the best meet they've had collectively this season. I'm excited for them to take the momentum and confidence gained today into the one-meter event tomorrow."
NEXT UP: Pepperdine will be back in action tomorrow, February 17 for the second of four days at the PCSC Championships. The day begins with the 500 free at 8:30 a.m. PT.
FOLLOW: Follow @WavesSwimDive on Facebook and Twitter for immediate updates, results and more. Go to pepperdinewaves.com for all information, releases and schedules.
