Swim and dive holds its own in U.S. Open

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The Liberty Flames swimming and dive team battled against the nation’s best Dec. 2-3 at the 2022 Toyota U.S. Open. 

Six Lady Flames swimmers, Jessica Schellenboom, Heather Gardner, Genna Joyce, Abbie Shaw, Sydney Stricklin and Kaycee Cannings, made their mark on the bright stage. 

Following her top-10 finish last year, Joyce competed in both the 100- and 200-meter breaststroke and posted a top-50 finish in both contests. 

Joining her in the top-50 was Gardner and Schellenboom. In the 100-meter breaststroke, Gardner finished 36th and Schellenboom finished 48th, and in the 200-meter, Schellenboom finished 34th. 

The two youngest swimmers, Stricklin and Cannings, both took part in the freestyle competitions. 

Stricklin eventually took home 32nd in the 100-meter event. 

The freshman Cannings competed in both the 100 and 200-meter events where she finished 35th and 45th among the nation’s top-ranked swimmers. 

Despite these great performances, junior Abbie Shaw stole the show for Liberty. 

Shaw qualified for the C Final in the 100-meter backstroke, where she then finished seventh overall in the competition. This marks the second straight year the Flames had a top-10 finisher at the Toyota U.S. Open. 

Shaw also took part in the 200-meter backstroke, where she finished 39th. 

Following this competition, Liberty will be off for over a month before its next competition. 

Their return to action will be Jan. 7, when they travel to East Carolina to clash with the Pirates. 

This season, the Lady Flames have their eyes set on a fifth straight CCSA championship. While the road to becoming champions won’t be easy, Liberty has the talent and the experience to cap off yet another impressive season. 

Garrett is a sports reporter for the Liberty Champion