Union women’s swimming and diving makes history at NAIA Nationals 

Elkhart, Ind. - The Union Commonwealth University women's swimming and diving team made a strong showing at the NAIA Swimming and Diving Nationals, securing a ninth-place finish out of 18 teams. The Bulldogs wrapped up the competition with a final score of 182.

Diving

Sarah Graves etched her name in UCU history, becoming the first Bulldog to claim a third-place finish in the 3m dive at the NAIA Nationals with a final score of 174.55. She also secured an eighth-place finish in the 1m dive, earning a score of 141.90. With these performances, Graves became the first woman in Bulldogs history to achieve two top-eight finishes in diving at nationals.

Swimming

Emma Phillips led the way for the Bulldogs with the team's highest finish at the NAIA Nationals, placing fourth in the 400 IM with a personal-best time of 4:29.35. 

She continued her impressive performance with a seventh-place finish in the 200 IM (2:05.54) and set another personal best in the 200 breaststroke, finishing seventh in 2:22.94. 

Making history for Union Commonwealth University, the relay team of Dorottya Józsa, Lise Puissant, Manca Petrič, and Phillips secured the program's highest-ever finish in the 800 free relay, claiming fifth place with a time of 7:43.89. 

Petrič added to the Bulldogs' success with an eighth-place finish in the 200 free (1:54.34) and a personal-best performance in the 1650, where she placed sixth with a time of 17:42.31.

The quartet of Puissant, Phillips, Petrič, and Józsa delivered strong performances in the relays, clocking a 1:48.33 in the 200 medley relay and a 1:38.57 in the 200 free relay. 

They continued  with a time of 3:55.04 in the 400 medley relay and 3:33.33 in the 400 free relay. Individually, Petrič also posted a time of 5:16.48 in the 500 free

The Bulldogs earned eight All-American honors, to learn more click here. They also broke several program records, click here to see which ones.