PLEASANT PRAIRIE, Wis. -- The Augustana Vikings women's swimming & diving team secured their first CCIW title in 25 years on Saturday at the RecPlex in Pleasant Prairie, closing out day three of the CCIW Championships on top with 729 points. The title is their seventh all-time in program history and first since 1997, which was led by head coach Dave Thomas.
"This was a complete team victory," said head coach
Dan Lloyd. "Every member of our team stepped up and gave everything they had this weekend. Everyone did their job. The true strength of our program showed and that is the relationships. Standing beside one another throughout this journey is what makes us more than just a team, we are a family."
The Viking women held the lead after Thursday's action with a team score of 257, followed by Carthage (206), Illinois Wesleyan (198), Wheaton (126), Millikin (103), Carroll (102) and North Central (42). Carthage entered 2022 as the three-time defending champion on the women's side. Through Friday, Augie led with a team score of 519, followed by Illinois Wesleyan (473), and Carthage (420). The Vikings saw two school records on day two as freshman
Zoe Heiar posted a time of 59.20 in the 100-yard butterfly, followed by a program-best mark of 7:52.51 in the 800-yard freestyle relay from
Brooke Walker,
Madelynn Marunde,
Alicia Garcia, and
Dominique Valentine.
On Saturday, Marunde earned conference champion in the 1650-yard freestyle, coming in first with a time of 17:41.06. Her teammate, Walker, came in second to help score the Vikings 37 total team points in the event alone and help them maintain their first-place standing to the end. Augustana finished with a total of 729 points, 20 ahead of second-place Illinois Wesleyan.
"This championship is for all the alums that helped build the foundation of this program over my last eight years," Lloyd added. "It is truly an honor to coach this program. The commitment to excellence that is Augustana swimming & diving stands for showed today."
Augie boasted a total of seven all-conference recipients throughout the CCIW Swimming & Diving Championships. Student-athletes who finish in the top three in each individual event and any first place relay teams are designated under this honor.
Lauren Raike was also named the RESPECT Award winner on behalf of Augustana.
To view the full 2022 CCIW Championship results, click
here.
