Lady Flames’ swimmers and divers defend CCSA titles in Tennessee

Liberty University’s women’s swimming & diving team successfully defended its Coastal Collegiate Sports Association (CCSA) title for the first time in program history, winning the three-day event that concluded Saturday at Tennessee’s Allan Jones Aquatic Center.

The Lady Flames swept all five relays and won with 1,566 points, distancing themselves from Florida Gulf Coast University (1,403 points) and Incarnate Word (1,037 points) in the nine-team competition.

It was the Lady Flames’ third-ever CCSA conference title after edging FGCU to win their first championship in the same pool in 2014. Liberty posted 10 podium finishes on Saturday, including five event victories, and ended the meet by setting program records for both podium finishes (29) and event wins (14).

Liberty set program records for the 50 backstroke, 100 back, 200 individual medley, and 400 IM and junior Payton Keiner broke her own CCSA and meet records in the 200 backstroke.

Redshirt junior Mikayla Herich became the second Lady Flame to earn Most Outstanding Swimmer honors, joining Brye Ravettine (2012), after winning three events over the weekend, and Eva Suggs was named Co-Most Outstanding Freshman.

Sophomore Lauren Chennault was named Co-Outstanding Diver of the CCSA Meet, the first Lady Flame to win the award, after winning the one-meter diving event and finishing second on three-meter. Liberty diving coach Tori Wood was voted CCSA Women’s Diving Coach of the Year for the second year in a row.

Read the complete story on Liberty’s Athletics website.