JANE LEE
Sports Editor
The Pepperdine women’s swimming and diving team has crossed off only two meets on the season’s schedule, but Head Coach Nick Rodionoff said he could not be more pleased with his team’s early success.
Following big performances at the season-opening Malibu Invitational on Oct. 28, Rodionoff’s Waves boasted 31 top-10 performances in its second meet of the season at the Lincoln Aquatics Shootout at UC Irvine on Friday and Saturday.
“So far we are way ahead of any team we have ever had at Pepperdine,” Rodionoff said. “We have better athletes this year, so because they are so athletic, we have been able to give them more rigorous workouts.”
In the first day of competition at Anteater Pool on Friday, the Waves compiled 15 top ten finishes with senior Ali McLeod leading the way for Pepperdine with three top-five performances.
Her top finish came in the 100 fly, in which she placed second with a time of 56:46 to move her into fourth on Pepperdine’s list of all-time best times. The senior also took third in the 100 back with a time of 58.89 and fourth in the 100 free with a time of 53.36.
“Ali’s a great visual athlete,” Rodionoff said. “She’s in the best shape she’s ever been in, and I think that has to do with the hard workouts this year.”
Also placing in the top five was freshman Dani Kimmel, who set a school record in the 100 breaststroke in her first meet as a Wave at the Malibu Invitational on Oct. 28. On Friday she swam to a third-place finish in the same event with a time of 1:06.86, which moves her into third all-time.
“Danielle’s looking to make the NCAA championships,” Rodionoff said. “She’s a talented swimmer, and she’s already made a huge story for herself.”
Rodionoff also watched his team make waves in the diving competition, in which senior Lindsay Adarme posted an impressive third-place mark in the one-meter dive and fourth in the three-meter dive.
The Waves concluded competition Saturday by finishing strong with 16 top-10 finishes.
McLeod continued her success in the pool as she placed in the top three in two events. Finishing third in the 200 IM, she clocked in at 2:09.61 and swam to a second-place finish in the 200 back with a time of 2:07.03, which is not only a personal best, but moved her into third all-time on the list of best times.
“Ali’s very gifted,” Rodionoff said. “She did great this past weekend, and I think she’s going to get some nationally ranked times this year.”
While Kimmel grabbed a fifth-place finish in the 200 breast with a time of 2:26.88, junior Loriann Mark also had a standout day as she led the Waves in the 500 free, placing fifth with a time of 5:16.04, a personal best.
The 400 medley relay team of McLeod, Kimmel, Nightingale and Wilson moved into Pepperdine’s all-time best times at fourth place with a time of 3:58.35.
In diving, Adarme placed fourth in the one-meter dive and fifth in the three-meter dive while freshman Sarah Towers took eighth place in both dives, sharing the spot in the three-meter dive with junior teammate Elizabeth Kress.
The team will look to build on its success Saturday when it competes at the Loyola Marymount Pentathlon.
“I think we’re way ahead of the game,” Rodionoff said. “We’ve done very well in our first two meets, and I know we’re going to continue to have a lot of success.”
11-09-2006
