ARKADELPHIA, Ark. (Oct. 9, 2021) – A win in the 200-yard freestyle relay – the final event of the meet – lifted Oklahoma Christian past Ouachita Baptist (Ark.) on Saturday at Waggoner Pool, giving the Eagles their first-ever dual win over a NCAA Division II opponent.
OC outscored the Tigers 139-133 in the dual, with freshmen
Laura Byars and
Olivia Rollen each posting two event wins.
Ouachita Baptist took a narrow 129-126 lead in the 200 freestyle relay, meaning the relay squad that won the race would clinch the dual title for its team. The OC quartet of Rollen,
Hope Hill,
Andrea Rogers and
Jaiden Branstrom posted a time of 1:40.95 to edge out Ouachita Baptist's top team, which finished in 1:41.29.
The 11 team points for winning the relay (along with two earned by the OC team that finished third in the race) put the Eagles on top. OC's only previous dual win in the program's five-season history came on Oct. 26, 2019, against Division III Southwestern (Texas) in Grapevine, Texas.
Rollen, from Edmond, Okla., won the 50 freestyle (25.05 seconds) and 100 freestyle (55.51 seconds) and anchored the Eagles' winning 400 medley relay team that won in 4:07.38 and also included
Vivian Pitsch, Rogers and
Cheyenne Parks.
Byars, from Lubbock, Texas, took top honors in the 200 freestyle (1:59.25) and 500 freestyle (5:19.45).
OC posted 1-2 finishes in two events. In the 200 backstroke, freshman
Julia Flores of Brazil won in 2:12.28, with sophomore
Mallory Mead of Timonium, Md., second in 2:13.58. Parks, a sophomore from Guthrie, Okla., won the 200 individual medley in 2:11.55, with freshman
Kaylee Ward of Claremore, Okla., finishing second in 2:17.59.
The Eagles now will gear up for the three-day Eagle Invitational, to be hosted by OC at the Mitch Park YMCA pool in Edmond, Okla., from Nov. 11-13.
