OSHKOSH, Wis. – The UW-Oshkosh women's swimming and diving team lost its first dual meet of the season to the UW-Eau Claire Blugolds on Saturday (Oct. 10), falling 242-48.
Paige Vitek (Raymond/Union Grove) took first place in both the 1-meter and 3-meter diving events. She finished with 205.75 points in the 1-meter event and 190.00 in the 3-meter event. Lexy Johnson (Kimberly/Kimberly) placed fourth in both events, scoring 154.15 points in the 1-meter and 143.60 in the 3-meter.
In the swimming events, Sienna Della-Peruta (Grayslake, Ill./Grayslake Central) placed first in the 50-yard backstroke with a time of 28.88, followed by Kacie Stamm (Neenah/Neenah) in seventh (30.91) and Megan Miles (Tomahawk/Merrill) in eighth (31.47).
Della-Peruta also took first in the 100-yard backstroke, finishing in 1:01.95. Rachel Werth (Greenfield/Greenfield) placed eighth in the event with a time of 1:07.61.
In the 100-yard individual medley, Della-Peruta placed second (1:05.51), Erin Block (Schofield/D.C. Everest) finished fourth (1:06.20) and Ashley Celentano (Cary, Ill./Prairie Ridge) took eighth (1:10.16).
The Titans earned four top-eight finishes in the 50-yard breaststroke, with McKenna Keepers placing third (35.15), Celentano fifth (35.35), Mo Couch (Green Bay/Ashwaubenon) sixth (37.43) and Hannah Blackmore (Milwaukee/South Milwaukee) seventh (38.95).
Olivia Pellitteri (Madison/Vel Phillips Memorial) swam the 1,000-yard freestyle in 12:02.54, finishing fourth. Lydia Rowe (Green Bay/Green Bay Southwest), Layla Ogango (Leesburg, Va./Riverside) and Elizabeth Fritz (Mokena, Ill./Lincoln-Way Central) followed in fifth, sixth and seventh with respective times of 12:03.13, 12:41.28 and 13:00.48.
Rowe placed fourth in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 5:53.95. Also competing in the event were Pellitteri in fifth (5:56.68), Werth in sixth (6:03.33), Ogango in seventh (6:12.21) and Bee Ecklund (Elgin, Ill./Larkin) in eighth (6:17.62).
Claire Jirovec (Merrill/Merrill) placed third in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:15.34. Keepers finished sixth (1:16.54), Celentano seventh (1:17.11) and Rowan Sinclair (Temecula, Calif./Great Oak) eighth (1:23.25).
Kori Burnett (Beloit/Beloit Memorial) finished third in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 57.57. Millie Belik (La Vista, Neb./Papillion La Vista) placed seventh (1:01.57), while Elsa Piering (Hartland/Arrowhead Union) followed closely in eighth (1:01.63).
Piering also competed in the 200-yard freestyle, finishing fourth with a time of 2:12.17. Belik placed fifth (2:15.81), while Cali Weiland (Waukesha/Waukesha West) took sixth (2:20.15).
Block placed fourth in the 100-yard butterfly with a personal-best time of 1:03.45. Burnett and Sinclair finished sixth and eighth with respective times of 1:04.26 and 1:05.27.
Jirovec's performance in the 50-yard freestyle earned the Titans another fourth-place finish. Recording a time of 26.49, Jirovec was followed by Stamm in seventh (28.16) and Piering in eighth (28.27).
In the 50-yard butterfly, Burnett finished sixth with a time of 28.67, while Stamm placed eighth in 30.32.
The Titans finished fourth and seventh in the 200-yard medley relay. The team of Della-Peruta, Keepers, Sinclair and Jirovec took fourth with a time of 1:59.08. Following in seventh with a time of 2:04.26 was the team of Ecklund, Celentano, Couch and Stamm.
Oshkosh earned three top-eight finishes in the 200-yard freestyle relay. Burnett, Jirovec, Block and Piering placed fifth with a time of 1:48.73. Pellitteri, Weiland, Werth and Belik finished sixth (1:51.89), while the team of Rowe, Fritz, Ogango and Blackmore took eighth (1:57.29).
The Titans will compete in the WIAC vs. MIAC Invitational on Saturday (Oct. 17) at the Olmsted County Recreation Center Natatorium in Rochester, Minnesota.
