Swimming Wins on Senior Day
Brenau Swimming easily outpaced Converse (S.C.) College and Campbellsville (Ky.) University in the first meet of the semester by capturing first place honors in all 11 events.
This meet was also the Golden Tiger's senior recognition meet which marked the last home meet for seniors Michelle Billeaud and Shelby Rumker.
The Golden Tigers garnered 606 points, while Converse finished in second place with 432. Campbellsville (292) finished in a distant third place.
The 200 Medley Relay of Talia Sola, M.K. Jabbia, Alicia Hodgetts and Michelle Billeaud earned first place in 1:52.08, while the 200 Free Relay team of Shelby Rumker, Maria Soledad Morell, Ella Kleinschmidt and Courtney Hayward outpaced their competition in 1:47.34,
Individual first place winners include:
1000 Free (10:41.71) - Courtney Hayward
50 Free (24.76) - Michelle Billeaud
200 IM (2:22.84) - Ella Kleinschmidt
100 Fly (1:00.16)- Alisha Hodgetts
100 Free (55.36) - Shelby Rumker
100 IM (1:04.11) - Michelle Billeaud
100 Back (59.14)- Talia Sola
200 Free (2:00.21) - Courtney Hayward
100 Breast (1:11.22) – M.K. Jabbia
The meet marked the last home competition for seniors Michelle Billeaud and Shelby Rumker who both cap outstanding careers.
Billeaud is a three-year team co-captain. She earned 2013 NAIA All-American honors as a part of the 400 freestyle relay team and 2014 NAIA All-American honors in the 100 butterfly and as a member of both the 400 medley relay and the 800 butterfly relay teams. She also captured NAIA Honorable Mention All-American honors in the 100 backstroke (2012 and 2013) and in the 50 freestyle (2013).
The Lafayette, Louisiana native helped capture the Appalachian Conference record as a member of the 200 and 400 medley relay teams and was the 2014 conference champion in the 200 butterfly.
Rumker, a native of Douglas, Georgia, served as a team co-captain in 2014-2015. She captured NAIA All-American status as part of the 800 free relay. She also earned individual NAIA Honorable Mention All-American honors in both the 100 and 200 freestyle.
"This was a very special day for our two seniors and I'm proud to have been able to honor them at their last home meet today," said head coach Blaire Bachman. "Our team performed well, considering the heavy load we've been training over the past two weeks, and we pulled a big win over two visiting teams. We are about three weeks out from the conference championships and now is the time to train harder and put our heads down and race."
Brenau continues their march to the NAIA National Championships when the squad next travels to the Berry Invitational in Rome, Georgia next Friday.