FAIRBANKS, Alaska --- The Biola women's swim team jumped into the 2006-07 season with a pair of dual meet victories over NCAA Division II University of Alaska Fairbanks on Friday and Saturday.
Friday evening, the Eagles edged out a win in the first of two duals, taking the final relay to complete a 109-93 win. On Saturday, Biola had a little more breathing room in winning 120-83.
Both contests were abbreviated from the traditional dual meet and featured just 11 events each day.
The Eagles didn't allow the cold weather outside to slow them down inside, as a number of swimmers qualified for the NAIA championships in their first meet of the year.
Senior Leigh Pearce recorded four "A" cuts over the course of the weekend to lead the way for Biola. She took top honors in the 100 back on Saturday in 1:04.47 and was second in the 200 individual medley at 2:21.25.
On Friday, Pearce won the 200 butterfly in 2:18.50 and was second in the 200 backstroke in 2:21.61.
Sophomore Jaclynn Petrilli and junior Christina Piakak both recorded qualifying times in the 100 and 200 butterfly events. Piakak, who returned to her homestate where she holds the high school record in the 100 fly, swam a blistering 1:03.07 to win the event. Petrilli finished third in 1:04.09.
The two switched places in the 200 fly as Petrilli touched the wall in second place in 2:20.25 with Piakak finishing third in 2:26.30.
In the freestyle sprints, sophomore Sarah Warkentin and senior Shannon Lawrence both swam qualifying times in the 100 and 200 events. Warkentin touched first in the 100 at 56.90 with Lawrence right behind at 57.29. Lawrence cut that time down to 57.00 when the event was swam on Saturday.
In the 200, Warkentin took second in 2:04.17 with Lawrence in third at 2:06.18.
Freshman Megan DeForest finished first by nearly three seconds in the 400 individual medley with an "A" cut time of 5:13.55.
Rounding out the qualifiers for Biola was junior Brittany Sharpe, who took fourth in the 1650 with an "A" time of 20:27.22.
Biola returns to the pool on Saturday (Oct. 28) as the Eagles travel to Cal Baptist for the PCSC Relays.
