Liberty to Open New Year Against UNCW, Saturday
1/6/2022 10:52:51 AM | Women's Swimming & Diving
The Liberty swimming & diving team (3-1) will have a unique dual-meet experience against UNCW this Saturday. The Lady Flames’ and Seahawks’ swimmers will face off at 11 a.m. at Seahawk Natatorium in Wilmington, N.C. Meanwhile, the teams’ divers will compete at Liberty Natatorium, beginning at 9:30 a.m. The scores will be combined from the home-and-home competitions into one head-to-head overall team score.
Liberty is 2-0 all-time against UNCW in swimming & diving, beating the Seahawks 113-89 (Jan. 30) and 190-107 (Jan. 31) on back-to-back days during the 2014-15 season inside Seahawk Natatorium.
How to Follow the Lady Flames
Saturday’s swimming action will be available for viewing, through a subscription to FloSports.
Liberty’s CCSA Award Winners this Season
So. Maddie Freece – CCSA Women’s Diver of the Week (Oct. 26)
So. Chloe Harris – CCSA Women’s Swimmer of the Week (Oct. 26)
So. Genna Joyce – CCSA Women’s Swimmer of the Week (Dec. 7)
Team Notes
• Liberty sophomore Genna Joyce and freshman Sydney Stricklin earned national-level experience on Dec. 3-4 at the 2021 Toyota U.S. Open at Greensboro Aquatic Center in Greensboro, N.C. Joyce earned a ninth-place finish in the 200 breaststroke, the second-best placing for a Lady Flame in a USA Swimming-sponsored national meet. Joyce is the fifth USA Swimming national scorer in program history.
• The Lady Flames hosted the TYR ’85 Invite, Nov. 19-21, to wrap up the fall portion of the season. Liberty finished second overall and posted six individual-event victories on the weekend. Abbie Shaw (100 backstroke) earned Liberty’s first B cut time of the season, winning in 53.88. Liberty claimed one-meter diving (Lauren Chennault), three-meter diving (Maddie Freece), 50 freestyle (Heather Gardner), 400 IM (Grace Isaacs), 100 backstroke (Abbie Shaw) and 200 backstroke (Emma Hazel).
• Liberty earned its 11th straight dual-meet victory, winning 15 out of 19 events contested during a 216-137 win at Marshall on Oct. 23. CCSA Swimmer of the Week Chloe Harris won four events, while CCSA Diver of the Week Maddie Freece won three-meter diving.
• In total, 12 different Lady Flames have won at least one individual event in 2021-22, led by Harris’ five wins. Freece has won three-meter diving all three times it has been contested this season and Shaw has three 100 backstroke victories as well.
• Liberty, hosting the CCSA Championships for the second time, won its fourth-ever CCSA title in 2021, and third in a row. The Lady Flames and FGCU finished in a tie for the conference championship, as both teams finished with 1,748.5 points.
• 12th-year Head Coach Jake Shellenberger has led the Lady Flames from the program’s inception. He has posted a 117-33 dual-meet record, being named CCSA Women’s Swimming Coach of the Year three times (2012, 2014, 2019). His teams have gone 62-14 all-time against CCSA competition.
• Last year at the CCSA Championships, the Lady Flames registered 21 podium finishes and seven event victories, to go along with four NCAA B cuts and one program record.
• Liberty placed four athletes on the 2021 VaSID All-State University Division Women’s Swimming & Diving team. Seniors Lindsey Cohee and Payton Keiner, along with junior Lauren Chennault and freshman Maddie Freece, were all named to the second team. Meanwhile, Freece was named State Co-Rookie Diver of the Year.
• A total of 11 current Lady Flames have posted CCSA podium finishes in their career, led by six each from Lauren Chennault and Emma Hazel. Eva Suggs has earned five top-three placings, followed by four from Jessica Schellenboom. Olivia Robinson (3). Maddie Freece (2), Chloe Harris (2), Abigail Egolf-Jensen (1), Chloe Rippey (1), Abby Strohmeier (1) and Emily Zimcosky (1) have all podiumed as well.
Student-Athlete Notes
• Abbie Shaw holds the fastest time in the CCSA in the 100 backstroke (NCAA B cut 53.88).
• Sophomore Maddie Freece had a record-setting freshman season in 2020-21, being named CCSA Women’s Diver of the Year. She won both one-meter and three-meter diving at the CCSA Championships, and went on to earn finals appearances on both boards at the NCAA Zone Championships. Freece finished ninth in three-meter diving at Zones, the first Lady Flame all-time to finish in the top 10 in an event at NCAA Zone Championships. She is Liberty’s current record holder in one-meter diving (293.15).
• Senior Lauren Chennault, the 2020 Co-Outstanding Women’s Diver of the CCSA Meet, has finished on the podium in both one-meter and three-meter diving at each of the last three CCSA Championships. That includes a conference title in one-meter diving as a sophomore. Chennault is currently the program record holder in three-meter diving (317.85).
• Junior Eva Suggs, the 2020 Most Outstanding Female Newcomer of the CCSA Meet, posted three podium finishes as a freshman and two last February. She won the 200 freestyle at the CCSA Championships in both 2020 and 2021, leading a 1-2-3 Liberty podium sweep both times. Suggs currently ranks third in program history in the 200 freestyle (1:47.82).
• Senior Emma Hazel is a three-time runner up at the CCSA Championships in the 200 backstroke and finished second in the CCSA 200 freestyle in 2021. She is tied with fellow aviation major Lauren Chennault for the most podium finishes (six) among active Lady Flames. Hazel also ranks third in program history in the 200 back (1:56.53).
Matchup Highlights
• After opening the 2021-22 season with a win at Campbell, the Lady Flames are now 39-4 all-time in dual meets contested in North Carolina. Liberty has won 38 straight dual meets inside the Tar Heel State.
• UNCW finished fifth at the 2021 CAA Championships, scoring 359 points. Junior Courtney Clausen is a three-time conference diving champion, being named 2020 CAA Female Rookie Diver of the Year and 2021 CAA Female Diver of the Year. She holds UNCW’s one-meter diving program record (298.5). UNCW graduated three-time CAA champion swimmer Evan Arsenault, who holds the Seahawks’ program records in 50 free, 100 free and 200 free.
Up Next
Liberty will host CCSA opponents Campbell and UNC Asheville for a tri meet, Jan. 21-22 at Liberty Natatorium. The Lady Flames will honor their 11 seniors with a ceremony prior to the Jan. 22 session.
Order of Events
400 Medley Relay
1000 Free
200 Free
100 Back
100 Breast
200 Fly
50 Free
20 Minute Break
100 Free
200 Back
200 Breast
500 Free
100 Fly
20 Minute Break
400 IM
200 Free Relay