NAIA Top Ten Coaches' Poll

Kansas City, MO – After successfully defending the Mid-South Conference championship, Cumberlands women's swimming & diving team climbed on spot to be ranked second in the latest NAIA Coaches' Poll, announced by the national office Friday.  UC earned 568.32 points and have 18 marks that rank in the top-ten of their respective events, while 11 Patriots swimmers have qualified for the NAIA National Championships.

The Patriots are led by Hanne te Velthuis, Maria Basto, and Ali Pecore, who have multiple top-five marks.  Te Velthuis, the MSC Swimmer of the Yea, is ranked third in the 50 free with a time of 23.77, while she holds the fifth fastest time in the 200 free touching the wall in 1:54.39.  The sophomore has gone 52.35 in the 100 free, which is the seventh fastest time in the NAIA this season.

Basto is continuing her impressive season as she is ranked in the top-three in a trio of events.  The Bogota, Colombia native broke the school record in the 100 back and is ranked second in the NAIA with her mark of 56.77.  Basto has also gone 2:02.35 in the 200 back, which is the second fastest time in the country and in program history, while her 2:07.92 in the 200 IM is ranked third.

Pecore captured the 500 free conference title and is ranked fifth in the country in that event with a time of 5:06.21.  The freshman holds the sixth fastest time in the 200 free (1:54.43) and the 12^th fastest time in the 1650 free (18:06.46).

Emma Lehmkuhl is ranked in the top eight on both the one-meter and three-meter board and will compete on both boards at nationals.

A trio of Patriots are ranked in the top-ten of their respective events.  Liberty Poley is ranked eighth in the 200 back with a mark of 2:07.68, while Anastasiia Shatalova's 52.51 in the 100 free is ranked tenth.  Isabella Cooksey has gone 5:09.21 in the 500 free to be ranked ninth and is ranked 12^th in the 400 IM with a time of 4:40.83.

All five of UC relays are ranked in the top-five of the NAIA, led by the 200 medley relay that is ranked second with a time of 1:46.17.

In addition to those swimmers, Riley Cerqueira, Kayana Cook, Rebecca Loftus, and Leah Thomas qualified for the national championships.

Keiser earned 636.17 points to remain ranked atop the poll, while Olivet Nazarene, SCAD Savannah, and Indiana Wesleyan round out the top five.  MSC foes Loyola and Lindsey Wilson are ranked seventh and eighth, respectfully.

UC will return the water, Wednesday, March 2^nd, when they travel to Columbus, GA for the NAIA National Championship.

For the latest and most up-to-date information on University of the Cumberlands Athletics, please visit www.cumberlandspatriots.com. Follow us on Twitter - @UC_Patriots, Instagram - @UCPatriots, YouTube – Cumberlands Patriots, and Facebook by searching University of the Cumberlands Athletics.