Lei-Alerta Named Rookie of the Year, King Named Coach of the Year at #SkylineWSD Championships

Lei-Alerta Named Rookie of the Year, King Named Coach of the Year at #SkylineWSD Championships

Share: Bookmark and Share
PURCHASE, N.Y. – Sarah Lawrence first-year Drew Lei-Alerta was named Skyline Women's Swimming Rookie of the Year, while first-year head coach John King was crowned Skyline Coach of the Year, as the Gryphons women's swimming team finished third at the 2019 Skyline Championships at Purchase Pool.

LEI-ALERTA NAMED ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Lei-Alerta becomes the second Gryphon in program history to earn Rookie of the Year honors, joining Naima Mackrel in the 2016-17 campaign.

The rookie earned First Team All-Conference accolades in the 200-yard butterfly. Lei-Alerta completed the race in 2:16.04, five seconds faster than the next finisher, becoming the first Gryphon in team history to be crowned champion in the event.

Lei-Alerta also received First Team laurels in the 100-yard butterfly, winning the championship race in 1:00.85, a personal-record, becoming the first swimmer in team history to win the event.

In addition, she scored in the 50-yard freestyle, finishing sixth with a time of 26.98, while adding to the point total with a fifth place effort in the 100-yard freestyle, touching the wall in 57.01, a personal-record.

KING NAMED COACH OF THE YEAR
King becomes the second head coach this season to earn Coach of the Year recognition, joining women's soccer head coach Maurizio Grillo. He also becomes the third Sarah Lawrence head coach all-time to receive Skyline Coach of the Year accolades.

PEAL EARNS SECOND SKYLINE TITLE
Competing in her final Skyline Championships, Devon Peal turned in a solid performance at the two-day meet, earning Skyline All-Conference accolades in two events.

The senior earned First Team honors in the 100-yard backstroke. Peal was crowned conference champion after touching the wall in 1:02.26, edging out the second-place swimmer by 0.65 seconds. Peal graduates as a two-time conference champion in the event, also winning the race in her first season at Sarah Lawrence.

Peal received Second Team recognition in the 200-yard backstroke, finishing second with a time of 2:15.57, becoming a two-time Skyline All-Conference performer in the event.

Peal also reached the podium in the 200-yard freestyle, finishing third with a time of 2:04.95, a new personal-record. Peal also posted a top five finish in the 200-yard IM, recording a time of of 2:26.20, a personal-record.

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES
Audrey de Szendeffy scored for the Gryphons in three events. The rookie scored in the 200-yard freestyle, finishing eighth with a time of 2:12.43, a season-best. She also scored in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:21.17, while scoring in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 5:49.12, also a new personal-best.

Caitie Adler scored in three events, posting personal-records in each, including the 100-yard breaststroke (1:18.25), 200-yard breaststroke (1:18.25) and 200-yard IM (2:33.40).
 
Andrea Corbin scored in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:20.50, while scoring in the 200-yard breaststroke with a mark of 2:51.48, a personal-record.

Eimile Briggs scored in a pair of events, including the 100-yard backstroke (1:13.67) and 50-yard freestyle (28.20).

GRYPHONS RELAYS
In the 200-yard medley relay, a team of Peal, Corbin, Lei-Alerta and Briggs reached a podium with a third place finish, posting a time of 1:59.66.

In the 400-yard freestyle relay, a team of Peal, Szendeffy, Corbin and Lei-Alerta finished fourth in 4:02.68.

UP NEXT
Sarah Lawrence returns to the pool Feb. 22-24 to swim at the Metropolitan Championships hosted by NJIT.
 

Story Links

Related Headlines