Williamsburg, KY – The UC women's swimming & diving team continues their strong start to season as they defeated Union 195-61 Saturday afternoon at the Dinah Taylor Aquatic Center.  The Patriots finished the day with 13 first-place finishes and 16 national standards.

Leading the way for Cumberlands was Mendy De Rooi, Christina Klouda, and Yuliia Hnidenko, who each tallied two wins and two NAIA "A" standards.  De Rooi won the 200 free with a season-best time of 1:56.67, before swimming 5:22.18 in the 500 free.  

Klouda began the day by winning the 200 back with a time of 2:10.76, five seconds faster than the NAIA "A" standard.  She followed that up by touching the wall in 4:44.43, 14 seconds faster than the "A" standard, to win the 400 IM.

Hnidenko continues to shine in the breaststroke, placing first in both the 100 and 200 breaststroke with times of 1:08.06 and 2:26.35, respectfully. Casey Walin won the 200 fly (2:20.05) and finished runner-up in the 400 IM (5:03.61) to notch a pair of national cuts.

Danielle Rehl tallied 182.90 points to qualify for her third straight NAIA championship in the one-meter dive event.

Houston Burgoon led a trio of Patriots to national cuts in both the 50 and 100 free.  Burgoon swam 25.68 for a "B" standard in the 50 free, while going 55.99 for an "A" standard in the 100 free.  Katy Smeltzer (26.02; 57.68) and Becca Loftus (26.14; 56.93) both hit "B" cuts in both events.

Kristi Burnette, Kennedy Kirks, and Leah Thomas each posted a win in the meet.  Burnette won the 100 back with a time of 1:05.54, while Kirks swam 1:04.53 to win the 100 butterfly. Thomas went 11:11.33 to win the 1,000 free.

In the final event of the meet, the 200 free relay, Amy Hedrick, De Rooi, Thomas, and Smeltzer teamed up to swim 1:42.86 for a first-place finish.

The Patriots will return to the water Friday, November 2, as they travel to Wilmore, KY for a two day tri-meet with Asbury and Keiser.  

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