Salem vs. Greensboro | November 12 | Royce Reynolds Family Pool | Greensboro, N.C. | 1 p.m.
SALEM SWIM OPENS 2022-23
The Salem swim team begins its sixth season in program history on Saturday, November 12th when it makes the short trip up Interstate 40 to Greensboro to face Greensboro College at the Royce Reynolds Family Pool at 1 p.m.
It is the second time since the program returned in 2019 that Salem will open the season in the Gate City and first time in that span that the meet will take place at Greensboro College. The other meet came at the Greensboro Aquatic Center on October 5, 2019, which served as the host to the Guilford Invitational.
Last year the Spirits began their season against Pfeiffer on October 9th in an event that didn't generate a team score.
LAST TIME OUT VERSUS GREENSBORO (January 29, 2022)
The duo of Kylie Clark and Olivia Nivens came through with eight Top-5 finishes for Salem swimming, which hosted a five-team dual at the Salem Aquatic Center on Saturday, January 29th.
Among the five teams competing at the dual event were Greensboro, St. Andrews, Piedmont, Warren Wilson and host Salem. Warren Wilson, due to mechanical issues with the team bus, was unable to participate in the morning session.
In that morning session, Clark came through with two fifth-place finishes for the Spirits, while Nivens posted a fourth-place and two fifth-place finishes. Clark's morning included a fifth-place performance in both the 100 backstroke (1:59.40) and 200 freestyle (3:35.20). She touched the wall sixth in the 50 freestyle, posting a time of 41.54, extracting 3.51 seconds from her previous best.
Meanwhile, Nivens narrowly missed the Top-3 in the 200 freestyle, finishing fourth with a mark of 2:52.87. She was fifth in both the 50 freestyle (34.01) and 100 breaststroke (1:46.98) events for head coach Vavina Lapham's squad.
With Warren Wilson's arrival prior to the start of the afternoon race, Clark posted the best Salem finish of the day (third) in the 200 backstroke. She touched the wall in 4:16.44, marking her seventh Top-10 finish of the season and best overall finish of her collegiate career. Clark also posted a time of 1:35.23 in the 100 freestyle, placing 11th overall.
Nivens competed in two events during the afternoon session, grabbing seventh in both the 500 freestyle (8:16.11) and 100 freestyle (1:16.37), which marks her best time of the season in the 100 freestyle. She completed her day with a trio of Top-3 finishes, giving her eight on the season.
Piedmont captured the team win in the morning session, scoring 95 points, while Greensboro came through with 12 and Salem scored six. The Lions also captured the afternoon win with 89 points, edging out Warren Wilson (14 points), Greensboro (10) and Salem (3).
CLARK GIVES SENIOR LEADERSHIP FOR SPIRITS
Kylie Clark, a multi-sport athlete who also plays soccer at Salem, returns to the Spirits swim team for the 2022-23 season. Last season, Clark joined the Salem swim team after competing for the soccer team in the fall and earned 16 Top-10 finishes and three Top-3 individual finishes along the way.
Clark posted three Top-10's in her collegiate swimming debut, placing fourth in the 50 backstroke, fifth in the 100 freestyle and seventh in the 50 freestyle at the Greensboro Dual on October 30, 2021.
Clark twice finished first for Salem a season ago, posting first in the 100 backstroke and the 50 freestyle at the Mount Vernon Nazarene Dual on February 3, 2022.
Clark also claimed third in the 100 freestyle and the 200 backstroke over the course of the 2021-22 campaign.
Both Elenor Regenthal and Scarlett Urbaez, who also make up the Salem swim team, will be taking part in their first-ever collegiate swim meet.