PRINCETON, N.J. – The Big Al Invitational came to a close on Sunday with a new school record on platform, five more all-time top ten times/scores, another NCAA B cut and a relay victory for the Rutgers swimming and diving team.
 

FROM THE POOL DECK

• Savana Trueb won her second diving title of the weekend with a school-record score of 295.60 with runner-up Abigail Knapton and Holly Prasanto also adding scores among the Rutgers top ten.
• The 400 free relay team of Sofia Chichaikina, Sofia Lobova, Virginia Menicucci and Eleonora Trentin added another win just shy of the school record in 3:18.50.
• Sofia Lobova and Tina Celik both added more top ten times to their resumes. Lobova captured a time of 49.38 for an NCAA B cut and the third-fastest time in the 100 free, while Celik swam to a 2:16.86 finish in the 200 breast for the ninth-best time in the Rutgers record book.

DIVING

• Savana Trueb bested Nicole Scott's previous Rutgers record set in 2014 by .50 points in her platform victory scoring 295.60 and her previous personal best of 234.9.
• Abigail Knapton was the runner-up with a score of 287.25 marking the fourth-best score among Scarlet Knights on platform while Holly Prasanto claimed fourth with 219.55 with the seven-best score in RU history.

SPRINTS

• Sofia Lobova's third-fastest 100 free time in Scarlet Knight history in 49.38 placed her second in the event and a mere .08 seconds behind first place and .34 seconds off the Rutgers record. She also logged the third-fastest finish in the 100 fly on Saturday and the fifth-fastest finish in a 50 free in 22.91 on Friday.
• Two other Scarlet Knights also raced in the A final of the 100 free. Sofia Chichaikina took third in 49.91 with Virginia Menicucci finishing sixth with a season-best 50.76.
• Tina Celik also captured her second top ten time of the weekend with her 2:16.86 performance as the top finisher in the B final of the 200 breast.

RELAYS

• The invite came to a close with a Scarlet Knight victory in the 400 free. All four Scarlet Knights -  Sofia Chichaikina, Sofia Lobova, Virginia Menicucci and Eleonora Trentin - logged splits under 50 seconds as they were .44 seconds off the Rutgers record.

BIG AL INVITE TROPHY

• The Scarlet Knights' Cat Salladin was named the Big Al Trophy recipient prior to the start of Sunday's finals.  The Big Al Trophy is awarded each year to a sportswoman who demonstrates superior dedication to the sport of swimming & diving through inspiration to others. A social work graduate student, Salladin was a member of the 2017-18 US National Team where she finished 10th in the 10K and 25K at the FINA Open Water World Championship. Despite a shoulder injury during the championship, Salladin has continued to compete and practice tirelessly and has been a source of positivity and inspiration to the members of the Scarlet Knights.

 

UP NEXT

• The Rutgers women's swimming and diving team will head off to its annual winter break training trip after the New Year and return to the Rutgers Aquatics Center on Monday, Jan. 17 to host Villanova on Senior Knight.

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