WOMEN'S SWIMMING & DIVING

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Lehner Wins MAC 100-Yard Backstroke Title

Friday's finals

Friday's preliminaries

Andrea Lehner

BUFFALO, NY – University at Buffalo women's swimmer Andrea Lehner (Lockport, NY/Orchard Park) became the first UB athlete to win a MAC swim title since 2005 as she captured Friday's 100-yard backstroke to highlight the Bulls' efforts at the 2008 Mid-American Conference Championships at Alumni Arena Natatorium.

Lehner became UB's first league champion since Jennefer Brankovsky's three victories in the 2005 championships. Lehner caught two-time defending champion Emily Wylam of Ohio and morning heats record setter Alisha Yee of Bowling Green in the final 10 yard to win the race, setting a UB school record. Lehner finished in 55.74 with Wylam second in 55.88 and Yee third in 55.94. Lehner set the school record in the morning heats (56.03) to qualify for the finals. Yee broke the MAC, MAC Championship and UB pool records with her preliminary time of 55.50 on Friday morning.

Eastern Michigan's Maddy Pilchard won her fourth consecutive 200-yard freestyle title on Friday night as the Eagles finished in the top three slots in the final. Pilchard, who set MAC, MAC Championship and UB pool records with her NCAA automatic qualification mark of 1:46.33 in the morning preliminaries, lowered her time to 1:46.11 for the championship race. EMU's Alissa Ricard (1:47.74) and Hannah Burandt (1:48.35) completed the sweep for the Eagles.

Sam Eckert

Miami's Karen Frazier took home her second straight 100-yard breaststroke title. Frazier won the championship race in 1:03.18, earning an NCAA B cut and missing the UB pool record by eighth-hundredths of a second.

Toledo's Meg Reissig won her second title in as many nights as she grabbed the 400-yard individual medley in 4:19.10. The clocking broke the MAC, MAC Championship and UB pool records and earned the Rochester, NY native an NCAA B cut. She won the 200-yard individual medley on Thursday night.

Ohio's Rachel Heim won the 100-yard butterfly in 55.17 to help the Bobcats take the overall points lead away from Toledo who had led through the first two nights. Ohio teammate Amanda Cecere set the UB pool record of 55.06 in the preliminaries breaking a mark set in 1989 by future U.S. Olympian Jenny Thompson, when Thompson competed for the Seacoast Swim Association.

Rachel Sorg

Eastern Michigan finished Friday's portion of the meet with a UB pool record in their victory in the 400-yard medley relay in 3:44.63. The foursome consisted of Pilchard, Ashley Durand, Leeza Moser and Alissa Ricard. UB finished fifth in the race but also posted a school record time of 3:48.13. UB's team included Lehner, Ashley Schaffert (Lockport, NY/Lockport), Sam Eckert (Eden, NY/Eden) and Sam Palma (Lancaster, NY/Lancaster).

Other UB entrants to score in the championship races included Eckert in the 100-yard butterfly, taking sixth in 55.91 and Rachel Sorg (Ottawa, Ontario/Canterbury) with her seventh-place finish in the 100-yard backstroke in 57.68.

UB diver Meili Carpenter (Boulder, CO/Fairview) earned a spot in Saturday's three-meter championship after finishing among the top eight competitors in Friday's preliminaries.

Competition concludes Saturday.

Team scores (after 13 events): Ohio 426.5, Toledo 416.5, Eastern Michigan 366, Miami 356, Buffalo 246, Bowling Green 244.5, Akron 166, Ball State 117.5.

Friday's champions

400 individual medley: Meg Reissig (Toledo) 4:19.10

100 butterfly: Rachel Heim (Ohio) 55.17

200 freestyle: Maddy Pilchard (Eastern Michigan) 1:46.11

100 breaststroke: Karen Frazier (Miami) 1:03.18

100 backstroke: Andrea Lehner (Buffalo) 55.74

400 medley relay: Eastern Michigan (Maddy Pilchard, Ashley Durand, Leeza Moser, Alissa Ricard) 3:44.63