The University at Buffalo women's swim team easily defeated the competition at University of Akron's Zippy Invitational over the weekend, taking first-place honors. The 15-team, three-day event, featured teams from Clarion, Cornell and Illinois State.
Buffalo scored 1,361.50 points in the team competition to distance itself from second-place Illinois State (1,267 points), and third-place Cornell (1,066.50 points) in convincing fashion.
The Bulls' Carrie Quinlan was the leader of the squad, winning the 100 butterfly and finishing second in the 50 freestyle. She was also part of the UB squad that won the 400 medley relay. Her extraordinary efforts earned her the UB Female Athlete of the Week honor.
Freshman standout Jennefer Brankovsky won the 400 individual medley, the 200 breaststroke, the 400 relay medley - along with Quinlan, and the 800 free relay. Brankovsky broke school records in the 400 individual medley and the 200 individual medley.
"Jennefer Brankovsky is an incredibly talented swimmer," said head coach Dorsi Raynolds. "The assets of her work ethic and great attitude with her God-given talent really are an outstanding combination for success."
The team's divers also saw much success in the competition. Tracy Hoover and Kim Lahaye finished first and second, respectively, in the one-meter diving competitions to dominate the event.
The Bulls will now take a six-week break and resume in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. at the Sun Classic Invitational on Jan. 12.
The UB men's swim team accumulated 349.50 points, landing them in 13th place in the 17-team field at the Miami University Invitational meet last weekend. Kenyon won the three-day meet with a total of 1,254.50 points.
UB freshman Aviv Oren won the "C" final of the 100 breaststroke. No other UB swimmer finished higher than 11th in any event.
The Bulls will host their final home meet of the season Thursday at 6 p.m. against Niagara University. After the winter break, Buffalo will be on the road to face Niagara and Mid-American Conference opponents until the end of the season.
