College Women’s Swimming Final – Sweet Briar 89, Guilford 73

SWEET BRIAR, Va. – Host Sweet Briar College won both relays among six first-place finishes in Friday’s 89-73 Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) women’s swimming victory over visiting Guilford College.

The Vixens’ team of Sarah Ahson, Dharma Kear, Natalie Waldo, and Lauren Jones opened the meet with a three-second win over the Quakers (0-1, 0-1 ODAC) in the 200-meter medley relay. Guilford’s tandem of Audrey Helfenbein, Rebecca Shenhouse, Carolyn O’Halloran (Summerfield, N.C./Bishop McGuinness), and Cassandra Pagan touched in two minutes, 37.88 seconds.

Ahson won the 100 backstroke by nearly 33 seconds in a time of 1:18.62. She also anchored Sweet Briar’s winning 200 freestyle relay, which touched in 2:38.35.

Guilford’s O’Halloran won both of her individual races, the 50 freestyle, and 100 butterfly. Her time of 30.23 seconds in the 50 free ranks sixth in school history. O’Halloran won the 100 fly in 1:23.43, six seconds better than Sweet Briar’s Waldo in the two-woman race. Including her contribution to the 200 medley relay, O’Halloran accounted for a team-high 19 points.

The Quakers’ Courtney Packer picked up a win in the 200 freestyle. (Her time was unavailable due to a computer glitch.) Shenhouse notched her first college victory with an eight-second win in the 100 fly. Her time was 1:33.48. Guilford’s Helfenbein completed the 100 freestyle in 1:19.89, over 10 seconds better than Sweet Briar’s second-place finisher.

Coach Brad Herndon’s Quakers return to action on November 17 at the Greensboro College Invitational, hosted by the Triangle Aquatic Center in Cary, North Carolina.