Dukes Drop Meet at East Carolina, Win Five Events

Saturday, October 28

Greenville, N.C.

1 p.m.

James Madison University

118.5

181.5

East Carolina

10/28/2023 4:12:00 PM | Swimming & Diving

GREENVILLE, N.C. – James Madison swim & dive swept both diving events and won a total of five events, but fell, 181.5-118.5, to East Carolina at Minges Natatorium on Saturday afternoon.

Freshman Kate Vitolo earned her second NCAA Zone qualifying score on the 3-meter board as she won the event with a score of 307.13. Senior Maddie Yager won the 1-meter board with a score of 279.38 to qualify for the event at Zones in March and was joined by Vitolo on earning a qualifying score with a 267.75.

Jamie Cornwell and Madison Cottrell also earned individual victories, respectively swimming times of 24.44 in the 50 Free and 57.20 in the 100 Fly. In addition, JMU won the 200 Medley Relay.

Diving

Joining Vitolo on placing in the 3-meter was Alexa Holloway who took third with a score of 273.15.
On the 1-meter, the Dukes took first and third as well with Yager in first and Vitolo in third. Vitolo has now scored an NCAA Zone qualifying score in all four dives this season.

Swimming

Beginning the individual swimming events, Abby Maguire finished third in the 1000 Free, just .09 seconds behind ECU's Danielle McCarthy in second.
Taking third in the 200 Free was Katelyn Fitzgerald with a time of 1:55.05, the freshman's second top-three finish in the event in as many meets.
Madison Cottrell took second in the 100 Back with a time of 56.60 and was followed by Cameron Gring with a time of 58.28.
In both the 100 and 200 Breaststroke, Riley Bridgman took second with times of 1:04.85 and 2:21.41, respectively. She also finished third in the 200 IM with a time of 2:10.09.
Cornwell edged Laura Kellberg in the 50 Free by .01 seconds to claim first.
JMU took third in the 100 Free, as Alex Volk recorded a time of 53.37.
Finishing in the top three of the 200 Back with a time of 2:06.36 was Lauren Aylmer, taking third.
Picking up a pair of top three finishes was Jess Pryne, taking second in the 200 IM with a time of 2:08.79 and third in the 500 Free with a time of 5:11.08.
Cottrell earned her first individual win of the season, swimming a time of 57.20 in the 100 Fly. Joining her by taking third was Gring with a time of 58.23.

Relays

JMU had a pair of squads take first and third in the 200 Medley Relay, as Gring, Bridgman, Cottrell and Cornwell won with a time of 1:44.86. Finishing with a time of 1:48.87 was Aylmer, Suzanne Earnshaw, Ann Chappell Ellington and Volk.
To close out the meet, the team of Grace Bousum, Volk, Pryne and Cornwell took second with a time of 3:33.34 in the 400 Free Relay.

Quoting Head Coach Dane Pedersen
"Today was a great test against a difficult opponent. Ultimately today is a data point in a data point in the journey of a season. Lots to evaluate, learn and apply in practice to be better for the championship portion of our season."

Up Next
The Dukes will host Marshall on Saturday, Nov. 4 at Savage Natatorium. The meet will be streamed on ESPN+ with the diving portion starting at 9:45 a.m. and swimming following at noon.