GALLERY: Swimming and diving falls to WKU
Five seniors say goodbye in season finale
More stories from Kasey Madden
The Marshall University swimming and diving team lost to Western Kentucky University 180-108 Saturday in its last meet of the regular season.
The team won three of the 16 events at the meet, including the 50 freestyle, 3-meter dive and 200 individual medley.
Freshman Nele Albers from Ludinghausen, Germany, set a new pool record in the 200 individual medley with a time of 2:04.61.
WKU set seven pool records at the meet. Those records were in the 200 medley relay, 100 breaststroke, 200 butterfly, 200-yard backstroke, 200 breaststroke, 100 butterfly and the 200 freestyle relay.
Saturday was Senior Day for the Herd, honoring the five seniors on the team: Lauren Hurd, Kaley Gregory, Katie Kramer, Casey Kyriacopoulos and Kacey Preun.
Head coach Bill Tramel said the seniors leaving is just a part of the journey of college athletics.
“So it’s every year, it’s a sad time, but it’s also a happy time because, like I said, they’re moving on to hopefully much greater things than swimming and diving,” Tramel said.
Senior diver Casey Kyriacopoulos said the last home meet was bittersweet.
“I think this year in general just has been the best, and I’ll take it with me,” Kyriacopoulos said. “We got so close as a team, my dive teammates have been great.”
Kramer’s family traveled from Naples, Florida, to watch the meet.
Bill, her father, said Saturday was the first time the family was able to see her swim at Marshall and the last time she will swim at Marshall.
“I’m just proud of her,” Bill Kramer said. “She’s a great teammate, and she kind of epitomizes ‘student-athlete. And her team rallies around her. Her teammates are kind of some of her closest friends, so to us that makes them a part of our family, so we’re just grateful.”
Coach Tramel is not down by this weekend’s loss, but rather looks ahead to the tournament.
“I think we’re in a pretty good place right now, there’s a lot of details we have to clean up still,” Tramel said. “We can just get excited and ready to swim fast and dive well.”
The postseason for the team begins Feb. 18-21 with the C-USA tournament in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Kasey Madden can be contacted at [email protected].
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