Columbus, GA – The second-ranked Patriots opened the NAIA National Championships in a big way as the dropped over ten seconds off their previous season best to place third in the 800 free relay, the opening event of the championships, Wednesday night at the Columbus Aquatic Center.  Not only did the Patriots finished third they also set a new school record in the process. 

UC touched the wall in 7:35.82 to be almost a half second faster than the school record of 7:36.36, which was set back in 2019.  Hanne te Velthuis, Ali Pecore, Leah Thomas, and Maria Basto were the members of the record breaking relay that also garnered NAIA All-American honors in the process.

?

Te Velthuis opened the meet splitting a 1:54.42, while Pecore went 1:52.69 in her championship debut to move UC into third place.  Thomas held onto that position with a strong third leg as Basto closed out the relay with the fastest split of the day by any swimmer as she clocked a 1:51.87 to close the gap as they were within striking distance of second place. 



UC earned 32 points for their performance, while Keiser sits atop the leaderboard with 40 points. 

The Patriots will return to the water tomorrow for day two of the NAIA National Championships.  Prelims are set for 9 a.m., with the finals beginning at 5 p.m.  Live video of the championship is available here.

For the latest information on University of the Cumberlands Athletics please visit www.cumberlandspatriots.com. Follow us on Twitter- @UC_Patriots and @UCPatsGameday, Instagram- @UCPatriots, Youtube- Cumberlands Patriots, and Facebook by searching University of the Cumberlands Athletics.