Thursday night marked the halfway point for the Emory University women's swimming & diving team as the Eagles look to perch on top of the podium once again. The second night of competition saw Emory record five podium finishes to go along with three Second Team All-America nods.
After being the national runner-up in the 500 Freestyle on Wednesday, graduate student Penelope Helm highlighted Emory once more on the second night as she won bronze in the 200 Freestyle. Helm established a new personal-best in the finals with a 1:48.59 to lead the Eagles on the evening.
Helm was one of four Eagles inside the top 13 in the event with sophomore Katherine Swan taking eighth at 1:50.31 followed by freshman Elodie Mitchell in 11th (1:50.35) and sophomore Natalie Boorjian in 13th (1:50.62).
Senior Ariana Khan led off the diving curriculum for the women on Thursday as she represented Emory in the night's final. Khan secured a sixth-place finish as she registered a score of 424.25.
Junior Meredith Liu threw down a personal best as well during the evening session and reached the podium in the 400 IM. Liu was the lone Emory cap in the water for the event, for either Eagles squad, and excelled with a seventh place showing. After going 4:23.67 in the morning, Liu lowered her time to 4:23.27.
Freshman Allison Greeneway, who was a consolation final winner on Wednesday in the 200 IM, added additional points for the Eagles in the 100 Fly as she was 15th with a time of 55.23.
The final event of the night featured Boorjian along with senior Ava Kennedy, freshmen Caitlin Crysel and Louisa Wendt in the 200 Freestyle Relay. The group posted a finals mark of 1:31.98 to finish in the fifth spot.
Through two days of action, the Eagles remain in fifth on the team leaderboard with 172 points and are in a battle with Denison (175) and Kenyon (173) for third place. New York University surged ahead to the leader position, using a strong Thursday night to claim the top spot with 242 points, and MIT stands second with 216 points.
The NCAA Championships continues Friday with a schedule including the 200 Medley Relay, 200 Fly, 100 Backstroke, 100 Breaststroke and the 800 Freestyle Relay.
