LOS ANGELES – The LMU women's swim team competed in the Pacific Collegiate Swim and Dive Conference Championships last week at East Los Angeles College in Los Angeles, Calif. 
 

On Wednesday, the Lions competed in the 1000-yard freestyle. All five Lions swimming in the event achieved their best time performances and placed in the Top 24 scoring positions earning 49 points and helping the Lions to fifth place standing (out of 14 teams) after the opening day.  

 

Sophomore Natalie Hogenboom led the Lions with a seventh-place finish in a time of 10:37.82 dropping 22 seconds off her personal record. Hogenboom's time moves her into seventh all-time in LMU history. Scoring alongside Hogenboom were Anna Doherty in 15th place (10:49.69 personal best), Ryann Dorris in 16th place (10:50.34 personal best), Grace O'Connell in 23rd (11:02.35 personal best), and Bella Flaminio in 24th (11:03.35 college best). 

 

In addition to the 1000 Freestyle, the 200 Medley Relay and 800 Freestyle relay were contested with the Lions placing 5th of 13 teams in the 200 Medley with the quartet of Lia Murray, Kelli Andrade, Maddie Nguyen and Ashley Leaman. LMU touched the wall in fourth place in the 800 Freestyle relay with Abby Shaw, Rei Sperry, Lily Gallagher and Hogenboom. 
 

 

Day 2 opened with the sprint 200 Freestyle Relay where the Lion quartet of Abby Shaw, Rei Sperry, Maddie Nguyen, and Lia Murray raced to a 5th place finish of 12 teams. Senior Lily Gallagher was the fastest Lion in the 500-freestyle morning prelim with a season-best 5:10.73 qualifying for the evening finals placing 15th. Junior Heidi Ly was the sole finalist for the Lions in the 200 Individual Medley placing 23rd and junior Abby Shaw represented the Lions in the 50 Freestyle final finishing in 14th in 24.39. 
 

 

Eleven Lions qualified on Friday for the evening finals led by freshman Lia Murray and junior transfer Maddie Nguyen who qualified for the Championship final (Top 8) in the 100 Backstroke. Murray led a pack of six Lions in the event, placing second in the race with a season best time of 56.88 while Nguyen touched the wall in fifth-place with a personal best time of 58.06. Murray's time makes her the 5th fastest 100 backstroker in LMU history. Deabler added additional points for the team in 14th place, followed by Sarah Lu in 18th, Frances Dygean in 21st, and Bebe Choroser in 23rd. 
 

  

Freshman Rei Sperry was the sole finalist for the Lions in the 200-freestyle, finishing in 11th place. Junior Abby Shaw led a trio of Lions in the 100-fly with a tenth-place finish with sophomore Ashley Leaman finishing in 19th and Deabler claiming another 21st place. Senior Kelli Andrade and Heidi Ly scored for the Lions in the 100 Breaststroke finishing 12th and 19th respectively and then joined Leaman and Sperry later in the evening for the 400 Medley Relay placing 5th out of the 13 competing teams. 

 

The 1650 Freestyle was the first event contested in Saturday's finals and the Lion's distance freestyle pack of Anna Doherty, Ryann Dorris, Grace O'Connell and Bella Flaminio once again amassed many points to the team's tally by each scoring in the event as they had done on day one in the 1000 freestyle. Anna Doherty was the top Lions scorer placing 16th with a personal best time of 18:14.15, a 40 second drop from her previous best. Ryann Dorris was close behind in 18th place with a 18.18.54 followed by Grace O'Connell with a 18:29.77 in 19th and Bella Flaminio in 18:42.89 in 23rd. Dorris and O'Connell's times were also personal best times.  

  

  

Freshman Ashley Deabler was the next Lion to go off the blocks, racing to a 19th place finish in the 200-backstroke with a season best time of 2:10.51. Rei Sperry and Abby Shaw were next to swim in the 100-freestyle final, placing 13th and 21st.  

 

A trio of 'flyers' finished off the individual portion of the competition in the 200 Butterfly final, led by Natalie Hogenboom, who achieved a personal best time of 2:09.94 to finish in 9th. Ashley Leaman followed in 14th having achieved a personal best time of 2:13.92 in the morning prelims, and freshman Grace Hull scoring her first points as an LMU Lion finished in 16th.  

  

   

In the final event of the competition, Sperry, Shaw, and Deabler returned to the blocks, joined by Freshman Lia Murray to take 8th in the 400 Freestyle relay increasing LMU's team point tally to 587 for seventh place among 15 teams and 185 points higher than in 2022. Lia Murray (100 Backstroke – 2nd place), Maddie Nguyen (100 Backstroke – 5th Place) and Natalie Hogenboom (1000 Freestyle – 7th place) were named to the All-Conference team for their Top-8 finishes.