FAIRBANKS – The Alaska Nanooks swimming team took on the Simon Fraser Red Leafs in their first of two dual meets on Friday afternoon. The Nanooks fell 108-59 in the meet, but the day was highlighted by Dorka Dancsok's pool record-setting swim in the 400-yard IM.
The meet kicked off with a 400-yard medley relay, with the relay squad of Dancosk, Cosima Schmiedel, Giorgia Merlo and McKenzie Fazio leading the way with a 3:54.58. The 'Nooks missed out on the top three spots in the following two events, as Kitti Marton led the team with a 10:38.35 in the 1000-yard freestyle and Macy Ahrens posted a team-best 1:07.90 in the 100-yard breaststroke. Both times were good for fourth place. Mariia Sirotinskaia placed third with a 1:01.47 in the 100-yard backstroke, which was just 0.02 seconds off of second place.
Up next came the 400 IM, where Dancsok and Simon Fraser's Jessica Dreghici were locked in a battle for first. Dancsok would hold onto her lead, and her 4:28.39 not only put her 0.79 seconds ahead of second place but also set the pool record for the event. Fazio followed that by finishing second in the 200-yard freestyle with a 1:54.15, which was less than a second off first place.
Schmiedel got the Nanook's second individual win of the afternoon in the 200-yard butterfly, finishing the event in 2:10.32. Ali Pecore swam to a second-place finish in the 50-yard freestyle (24.64), which led to the final event of the day: the 400-yard freestyle relay. The team of Fazio, Schmiedel, Pecore and Dancsok finished half a second off first place, as their time of 3:34.81 put them second in the relay.
The 'Nooks are back in the pool again tomorrow morning, where they will face off against Simon Fraser one more time at 10 a.m.
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