Michigan
Oakland
Bellard Shines as U-M Downs Oakland
11/8/2024 6:51:00 PM | Women's Swimming & Diving
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Canham Natatorium)
Scores: Michigan 202, Oakland 92
Next U-M Event: Fri-Sun., Nov. 22-25 -- at Georgia Tech Invitational (Atlanta, Ga.), 10 a.m./5 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 14-ranked University of Michigan women's swimming and diving team won every event it competed in on its way to defeating Oakland 202-92 on Friday (Nov. 8) at Canham Natatorium.
The quartet of Anna Boemer, Josie Connelly, Lindsay Flynn and Letitia Sim got the meet off to a winning start with the top time in the 200-yard medley relay at 1:39.95.
Two freshmen -- Rebecca Diaconescu and Marian Ploger -- took control in the 1,650-yard freestyle event. Diaconsecu took first with a mark of 16:19.43 while Ploger touched the wall at 16:31.17 to finish second overall.
Hannah Bellard took her first win of the meet in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:49.10. Ella Jo Piersma put in a strong effort, clocking a 1:49.71 to finish second. Flynn finished close behind in third with a mark of 1:49.84.
Lily Cleason kept the momentum going with a victory in the 100-yard backstroke, logging a time of 55.18. Brady Kendall and Natalie Kan took second and third to complete another sweep for U-M.
Malia Amuan was the next Wolverine to secure a win against the Golden Grizzlies, posting a time of 1:06.49 in the 100-yard breaststroke. Freshman Sophia Jahn finished second with a mark of 1:07.03.
Stephanie Balduccini grabbed a win in her first appearance in the pool, taking first in the 200-yard butterfly with a mark of 1:59.92.
Abbey Ketslakh took first in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 23.44 seconds, narrowly defeating Connelly for the top spot. Christey Liang locked down the win in the 100-yard freestyle with a mark of 50.50.
Cleason swept the individual backstroke events with a 200-yard backstroke time of 1:59.49 to outlast the field. Bellard secured her second victory of the evening, clocking a 2:22.76 in the 200-yard breaststroke.
Madison Smith came out on top in the final distance event of the meet, winning the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:56.26. Bellard took win number three in the 100-yard butterfly, clocking a time of 53.91.
Chrismon Clark took the one-meter dive event with a score of 283.85, and Evie Johnson won the three-meter dive with a score of 282.50.
Kan wrapped up the individual events with a triumph in the 200-yard IM with a time of 2:04.36.
The team of Balduccini, Boemer, Kendall and Liang closed out the win with a first-place result in the 400-yard freestyle relay with a time of 3:22.43.
Up next, Michigan will head to Atlanta to take part in the Georgia Tech Invitational. The three-day meet gets underway on Friday, Nov. 22 with preliminaries starting at 10 a.m. and finals starting at 5 p.m. each day.
Players Mentioned
