On March 26, the Drexel Women’s diving team headed to Newark, Delaware to begin the College Athletic Association Championships for the 2020-21 season.
The first day of the competition saw only the three-meter preliminaries. Junior Katie Caputo placed 19th in the three-meter dive, closely followed by freshman teammate Cora Hochsteller in 20th place for the preliminary round.
The one-meter dives occurred on March 27. Caputo scored 203.80 in the women’s one-meter, earning her a 16th place finish. She was followed by Hochsteller with the 20th position and a score of 183.05, which she later turned into an eighth place finish in the consolation round with a score of 172.30.
On March 29 in Christiansburg, Virginia, the women’s swimming team began their competition. Junior Lera Nasedkina took home the first medal for the Dragons with a bronze in the 50 free. She was back in action alongside teammates Victoria Palochik, Lauren DiCamillo and Ryann Styer in the 200 free relay. The Dragons’ time of 1:33.48 earned them a fourth place finish.
Sophomore Maddie Riley began her night with the preliminary round of the 500 free, earning herself a place in the B-finals with a 16th place finish. In the B-finals, Riley swam a time of 5:01.11, earning herself an eighth place finish.
The 50 free proved to be a successful event for the Dragons, with two swimmers in the A-finals. Styer swam a time of 23.43, earning herself a sixth place finish. Nasedkina impressed with a time of 22.96 and a bronze medal, the third of her career and the first of an individual event. The night ended with the 400 medley relay with a team consisting of DiCamillo, Nasedkina, Palochik and Styer, who placed sixth with a time of 3:49.53.
The team returned to the pool on March 30. Freshman Molly Watts made her debut at the competition in the 400 IM preliminaries, placing 16th and earning herself a spot in the B-finals. She swam the finals with a time of 4:41.11, earning herself an eight place finish.
The 100 fly saw Palochik and Nasedkina back in action, both in the B-final, placing 11th and 13th respectively in the preliminary rounds. Palochik narrowly missed out on ninth place by a tenth of a second and a time of 56.11. She was followed three places behind by Nasedkina, her time being 56.79.
The women finished their final day of competition on March 31, after a few challenging days at the pool. Styer and Nasedkina swam the 100 free, both advancing to the heats. Styer swam the B-finals after a 14th place finish in the preliminaries. She swam the finals with a time of 51.90, once again placing her in the 14th position. Nasedkina advanced into the A-finals, after a time of 50.42 in the preliminaries. She finished the finals with a time of 50.71 and a fifth place finish.
To wrap up the competition, Nasedkina, Styer, DiCamillo and Palochik swam in the 400 free relays. The Dragons placed sixth with a time of 3:28.04. The Dragons finished the event in sixth position with 158 points overall.