Women’s Swimming Captures First GLVC Title

Behind a dominating performance on the final day of competition at the 2016 Great Lakes Valley Conference championships, the women’s swimming team captured its first GLVC title and 19th all-time conference crown.
 
In addition to the conference championship, both programs earned individual laurels, as Will Shanel and Evyn Spencer were each named the Great Lakes Valley Conference’s Swimmer of the Year on their respective sides, while Emma Barnett captured the league’s women’s Freshman of the Year award. Head coach Ed Pretre was voted by his peers as the conference’s women’s swimming Coach of the Year, picking up his first GLVC award as well.
 
The Bulldogs, who entered the day trailing two-time defending GLVC champion Drury by 52.5 points, raced past the Panthers on the final day of the four-day meet, accumulating 946.5 total points to DU’s 910. Truman made up big chunks of ground in three of the four individual events on the day, finishing second, third, fourth and fifth in the 100 free; first, third, fourth and fifth in the 200 back; and second, third, fifth, eighth, 10th and 13th in the 1650 free. Those totals helped give Truman a 32-point lead entering the final event of the championships, the 400 free relay.
 
From there, Truman added the cherry on top of its first GLVC title by smashing the previous conference record with a first-place finish of 3:25.12, besting DU by 0.31 seconds.

The Bulldogs head back to the pool for a week of practice before awaiting selections to the NCAA Div. II Swimming & Diving Championships, taking place March 9-12 in Indianapolis, Ind. Selections will be announced via a release at NCAA.com by 5 p.m. (ET) Feb. 24.
 
Stay tuned to trumanbulldogs.com throughout the upcoming days for photos, videos and more from the team’s conference championship trip to Crawfordsville, Ind.
 
For complete coverage of the GLVC Championships, click here.