Lydia Lafferty Sets Pool Record as Kansas Edges Houston
Lydia Lafferty bettered her 100 butterfly pool record, and she anchored a relay pool record that helped Kansas close strong and edge Houston, 153-47 on Saturday.
The Kandas 200 freestyle relay downed a Robinson Pool record that had stood since 2009. It was part of a vital 1-3 finish to surge past Houston, which nearly pulled off the win in Lawrence.
Lafferty lowered her 100 fly record by going 53.00. She joined Sophie Wallace, Sarah Blake and Ella Hansen with a 22.67 anchor split in the 200 free relay to win 1:32.24.
The Jayhawks closed the meet strong after Houston looked to have things in hand. Gabi Dyer went 4:52.00 to win the 500 free in a 1-3-4 finish. Lafferty followed with the 100 fly win, atoning for a DQ in the 100 backstroke. Hailey Farrell (4:22.44) and Sandy Cummins went 1-2 in the 400 individual medley. The Jayhawks tallied a 55-19 edge over those final four swimming events.
It was enough to overcome just three wins in the first 10 swimming events. Lafferty joined Ryan Johnston, Anna Gearhart and Blake in winning the 200 medley relay in 1:39.89. Dyer went 1:49.06 to claim the 200 free. Wallace’s 23.49 claimed the 50 free, and she was second in the 100 free.
Diving supplied Kansas with a major boost. Shiyun Lai scored 369.23 to win 3-meter, with teammate Lize Van Leeuwen second. Lai’s 334.43 prevailed on 1-meter, with Van Leeuwen third.
Houston had put itself in a strong position early. Elizabeth Jimenez won the 100 backstroke in 54.98, edging teammate Alexia Duncan by .08. Jimenez and Duncan went 1-2 in the 200 back, the margin this time .09 seconds in Jimenez’s 1:59.37.
Mariana Cote won the 1,000 free in 10:02.62 and was second in the 500. Noor El Gendy’s 1:59.90 claimed the 200 fly, then was second to Lafferty in the 100 fly. Liya Goupil claimed the 100 free in 50.77 after coming second by .05 in the 50. Evelyn Entrekin won the 100 breast in 1:01.10, and Flo Peter won the 200 breast in 2:14.96.
