Women's Swimming | 10/17/2026 12:04:00 AM

WEST CHESTER, Pa. — Freshman Megan Luddecke (Hatboro, Pa./Hatboro Horsham) captured two individual victories, Morgan Holmes (Monroeville, Pa./Gateway) added a sprint freestyle win and the Bloomsburg women's swimming team delivered a dramatic victory in the final relay against Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference rival West Chester on Friday evening.

The Huskies' most exciting performance came in the 400-yard freestyle relay, where Sidney Beers (DeBois, Pa./DuBois Area), Samantha Linsey (Camp Hill, Pa./Cedar Cliff), Holmes and Luddecke combined for a winning time of 3:34.15, edging West Chester's top quartet by just three-hundredths of a second.

Beers opened the relay in 54.55 seconds before Linsey followed with a 53.47 split. Holmes kept the Huskies in contention with a 53.28 leg, setting up Luddecke for a thrilling finish. The freshman anchored in 52.85, overcoming a narrow deficit to secure the victory over West Chester's 3:34.18.

Luddecke continued her impressive start to her collegiate career with victories in both the 200 and 100 freestyle events. She claimed the 200 freestyle in 1:57.08, holding off West Chester's Greta Saville (1:57.73), before returning to win the 100 freestyle in 53.39, edging West Chester's Lava Piuva by eight-hundredths of a second.

Both performances surpassed the PSAC championship qualifying standards, with Luddecke finishing well inside the 2:02.08 standard in the 200 freestyle and 55.78 qualifying mark in the 100 freestyle.

Holmes, a decorated senior and multiple-time PSAC champion, added another individual victory in the 50 freestyle, touching first in 24.49 seconds. The performance was nearly a full second faster than the conference qualifying standard of 25.49. Holmes also finished third in the 100 freestyle in 53.54, giving the Huskies three of the top four finishers in the event.

Olivia Igou (Flourtown, Pa./Springfield Township) added a pair of strong sprint performances, finishing third in the 50 freestyle in 24.66 before placing second in the 100 breaststroke in 1:08.24. Both times qualified her for the conference championships. Avery Wenzel (Reading, Pa./Wilson) followed Igou in the breaststroke, taking third in 1:09.98, while Jordyn Kinnee (Frederick, Md./Oakdale) touched fifth in 1:10.29, giving Bloomsburg three swimmers inside the PSAC qualifying standard of 1:11.16.

Vanesa Valli (Beaver Falls, Pa./Blackhawk) led Bloomsburg in the 100 butterfly, finishing third in 59.13, while Grace McBlain (Aldan, Pa./Monsignor Bonner) (59.57) and Ashley Martin (Middletown, N.Y./Pine Bush) (59.65) followed in fourth and fifth, respectively. All three performances met the PSAC championship standard of 1:01.36.

Valli also paced the Huskies in the 200 individual medley, touching in 2:15.27 to secure another conference qualifying performance. Maddie Fletcher (Wrightstown, N.J./Northern Burlington County) followed in 2:16.68, also inside the qualifying mark of 2:18.25.

McBlain added a third-place finish in the 100 backstroke in 1:01.23, meeting the conference standard of 1:02.28, while Fletcher led Bloomsburg in the 500 freestyle with a time of 5:25.59, also securing a PSAC qualifying mark.

The Huskies opened the meet with a third-place finish in the 200 medley relay as McBlain, Wenzel, Martin and Valli combined for a time of 1:50.78.

Bloomsburg's four event victories, including the final relay, highlighted an evening of competitive performances against one of the conference's perennial championship contenders.

Igou, meanwhile, is building on a freshman campaign in which she qualified for the PSAC Championships in three events and finished 13th in the 100 breaststroke with a collegiate-best time of 1:06.89.

Bloomsburg returns to the pool Friday, Oct. 30, when the Huskies travel to Penn State Behrend for a 5 p.m. meet.