Maggie MacNeil Starts LSU Career with Pair of Wins in Tri-Meet
Maggie MacNeil won the women’s 100 freestyle and 100 backstroke as LSU started the season with a tri-meet sweep of Vanderbilt and Tulane Friday in Baton Rouge.
LSU topped Vanderbilt, 183-79, and Tulane, 205-57. Vandy bested Tulane, 153-109, in the other dual.
MacNeil won the 100 back in 51.10, a winning margin of 5.3 seconds over Tulane’s Danielle Titus. She went 47.43 to win the 100 free in a 1-2 with teammate Reagan Osborne. MacNeil started by splitting 21.24 off the end of the women’s 200 medley relay, leading the Tigers to victory. Fellow Canadian transfer Jade Hannah (from USC), Abby Maoz and Hannah Bellina rounded out that squad.
Both of MacNeil’s individual swims reset LSU program records. In the 100 back, she downed the record set by Caley Oquist in 2014 at 52.67. The 100 free record dated to 2011 in the hands of Amanda Kendall at 47.90.
LSU won all but two events. Osborne won the 200 free. Maoz claimed the 100 breast. Hannah Womer prevailed in the 200 breast and 200 IM, and Sofia Sartori won the 200 fly and 200 back.
The Tigers went 1-2-3 in both sprint freestyle events. Katarina Milutinovich, third behind MacNeil and Osborne in the 100, won the 50 in 23.38, a quarter-second up on teammate Michaela De Villiers. Jolee Liles won the 1,000 free to start things off, and Jenna Bridges and Chloe Song went 1-2 in the 100 fly.
Vanderbilt won the other two events. Mercedes Traba held on in the final 100 yards to best LSU’s Chloe Cheng in the 500 free. Traba clocked in at 5:02.38. She also finished second in the 1,000.
The Commodores won the concluding 400 free relay via Gabriela Pierobon Mays, Gray Almasi, Natalie Van Noy and Alina Stout. Faith Knelson was second in the 100 breast, and Ellen Taliaferro was the 200 IM runner-up.
Tulane’s Titus finished second in the 100 back and 200 back, the Green Wave’s best finishes of the afternoon.
