Tartans Swim Up to the Challenge at Kenyon Total Performance Invitational

(GAMBIER, Ohio) - The Carnegie Mellon University women's swimming and diving team traveled to Kenyon College for the annual Total Performance Invitational with Kenyon, Grove City College, Davidson College, University of Findlay and the University of Pennsylvania. The team finished fourth with several NCAA provisional times being met.

The 800-yard freestyle relay team of junior Megan Garvey (West Chester, Pa./Villa Maria Academy), freshman Shieri Suzuka (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Yorktown), junior Soleil Phan (Irvine, Calif./Beckman) and sophomore Kelley Sheehan (Poway, Calif./Poway) finished ninth after touching the wall in 7:44.85. It was the first time this season the team swam this event.

In the 1,650-yard freestyle on the opening night, sophomore Kaeli Halbersleben (Maineville, Ohio/Kings) finished 10th in a career-best time of 17:30.66, knocking 46 seconds off her previous season best time and provisional qualified for nationals. Freshman Elizabeth Chang (Great Neck, N.Y./Great Neck South) also swam the distance freestyle and finished 20th in 18:32.25. Halbersleben later had a season-best time of 5:10.45 in the 500-yard freestyle, finishing 15th overall.

The 200-yard freestyle relay team of Phan, Sheehan, Elissa Maercklein (Whitefish Bay, Wis./Whitefish Bay), and Suzuka swam a season-best time of 1:39.05 for seventh place.

Phan had four top eight finishes and four NCAA provisional qualifying times for the weekend starting with a seventh-place showing in the 200-yard freestyle where she touched in 1:53.34. Her prelim time was even better at 1:53.09. Later she finished fourth in the 400-yard IM in 4:30.53. The junior then finished fifth in the 100-yard butterfly in a career-best time of 56.86 and completed the meet with a third-place finish in the 200-yard IM in 2:08.44.

Sheehan also swam in the finals of the 400-yard IM, finishing seventh in 4:37.11 but made the heat with a prelim time of 4:33.08 as Suzuka was eighth in the 200-yard IM in 2:11.53.

Junior Tatiana Duchak (Centreville, Va./Mercersburg Academy) finished fourth in the 100-yard breaststroke touching in a season-best time of 1:06.37 as senior Price Kinney (Greenville, S.C./J.L. Mann Academy) was first in the consolation final in 1:07.32 and freshman Felicia Wang (Mission Viejo, Calif./Capistrano Valley) was second in 1:07.63. Kinney later swam in the final of the 200-yard breaststroke, finishing sixth in season-best time of 2:26.30.

Freshman Kira Singhaus (Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill West) recorded a season-best time of 58.71 in the 100-yard bacstroke as she touched third in the consolation final.

The team will have off from competition until January 19 when they host Westminster College and SUNY Geneseo at 1:00 p.m.