DENVER –  The University of Denver women's swimming and diving team improved to 2-0 in dual meets on the young season with a 130-94 win over Florida International in the Pioneers first of three duals this weekend that are a part of the 2018 Dual-A-Pool-Ooza at El Pomar Natatorium.
 
Session I
Denver 130
FIU 94                                                                                   
 
Rice 132
Tulane 89                                                                            
 
Denver opened the meet with a first and third place finish in the 400 medley relay. Redshirt-senior Heidi Bradley (Victoria, B.C.), freshman Brandi Vu (Longmont, Colo.), junior Kylie Cronin (Marblehead, Mass.) and senior Lauren Moden (Parker, Colo.) took the top spot in the opening race of a busy weekend at El Pomar with a time of 3:45.73. Denver's B-relay took second with a time of 3:55.40, swam by senior Annelyse Tullier (Dallas, Texas), sophomore Charlotte Simon (Saint Remy, France), junior Josie Valette (Boulder, Colo.) and sophomore Aysia Leckie (Georgetown, Ontario).
 
In the first individual event of the night, the Pioneers took spots 2-5 in the 1000 free. Junior Andi Johnston (Fort Collins, Colo.) reached the wall in second in 10:46.26, freshman Izzy Smith (Leawood, Kan.) touched the wall third with a time of 10:47.66, sophomore Uma Knaven (Chapel Hill, N.C.) finished fourth with a 10:53.30 and freshman Olivia Kercheval-Roig (Tallahassee, Fla.) took fifth in 11:01.64.
 
Sophomore Emily Vandenberg (Ajax, Ontario) led a Pioneer trio that took the top three spots in the 200 back. Bradley, who earned Summit League Women's Swimmer of the Week honors on Tuesday, was timed at 2:06.78 to take second followed by freshman Livi Schmid's (Fairfax Station, Va.) third-place time of 2:08.14.
 
Senior Lauren Moden (Parker, Colo.) continued her early season success in the 50 free, winning the event for the second-straight week, this time with a 23.99. Junior Sarah Lingen (Maple Grove, Minn.) reached the wall in third with a 24.65.
 
Following the first break, the Pioneers finished 1-2 in the 200 breast. Sophomore Ally Yancy (Cave Creek, Ariz.) finished first with a 2:22.98, followed closely behind Vu's second-place time of 2:23.13.
 
Cronin and Valette earned the top-two spots in the 100 fly on Friday evening, finishing with times of 56.13 and 56.86, respectively. The victory for Cronin was her second in as many weeks.
 
Leckie dropped 0.65 off her winning time in the 100 free last week to take this Friday's race in the event with a 52.47. Lingen earned points for Denver with a third place finish in 53.51.
Bradley finished second in the 50 back to lead the Pioneers with a 26.15 in just the second event in the first eight swimming events that the Pioneers did not win.
 
FIU grabbed the 200 IM as well, but the Pioneers earned valuable points in the two, three and four spots, as Vu took second with a 2:09.27, Yancy reached the wall in third in 2:09.82 and Vandenberg finished in the fourth position in 2:10.84.
 
Tullier led the Pioneers in the 500 free with a second place finish, reaching the final wall in 5:12.05.
 
In the final event of the first of three dual meets this weekend, Moden, Lingen, Valette and Leckie combined to finish first with a time of 42.96.
 
Friday's Event Wins
400 Medley Relay – Heidi Bradley, Brandi Vu, Kylie Cronin, Lauren Moden – 3:45.73
200 Back – Emily Vandenberg – 2:06.78
50 Free – Lauren Moden – 23.99
200 Breast – Ally Yancy – 2:22.98
100 Fly – Kylie Cronin – 56.13
100 Free – Aysia Leckie – 52.47
Women 100 Free Relay – Lauren Moden, Sarah Lingen, Josie Valette, Aysia Leckie – 42.96
 
Saturday's Order of Events (All Times Mountain)
9:30 a.m. – Swimming Session II
200 Medley Relay
500 Free
200 Fly
100 Free
200 Back
100 Breast
50 Fly
200 Free
400 IM
200 Free Relay
Following Session II – Diving – One Board
2:30 p.m. – Swimming Session III
100 Medley Relay
1000 Free
200 Breast
50 Free
200 Fly
100 Back
200 Free
50 Breast
100 IM
400 Free Relay
 
UP NEXT:
All four programs will return to El Pomar Natatorium for two more sessions tomorrow, starting at 9:30 a.m. MT. Following this weekend, Denver's men will open its dual season with a trip down to Air Force on Thursday (7 p.m. MT) before returning to its home pool on Saturday to co-host a meet against Wyoming with the women's program on Saturday at 12 p.m. MT.
 
Fans interested in making a donation to the men's and women's swimming and diving programs can do so by clicking here. Your contribution will make a direct impact on the success of YOUR Pioneers. Thank you in advance for your unwavering support of our student-athletes and their quest for excellence.   
 
-Pioneer Together-

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