The Lindenwood swimming and diving teams finished strong in the 4^th day of the Delta State Christmas Invite. The Lion women were victorious with 2332.5 points ahead of 2114 for Delta State.  On the men's side things were reversed with the Lion men 2^nd to Delta State 2039.5 to 1931.5.  Ashley Holloway won women's diver of the meet, Simone de Rijcke won women's swimmer of the meet, and Jan Hanzal won men's swimmer of the meet.
 
The women got things rolling with another dominant showing in the 1650 freestyle.  Simone de Rijcke, Jana Hellenschmidt, and Morgan Fischer finished 1^st, 2^nd and 5^th with times of 16:48.98, 17:04.62, and 17:18.11.  Those times were all NCAA B standards and currently rank 3^rd, 11^th, and 24^th in NCAA Division II.
 
In the men's mile, Angel Regalado and Cristian Vasquez finished 1^st and 5^th.  Their times of 15:31. 49 and 15:55.88 were both under the NCAA B standard and Regalado's will likely earn an invitation to the NCAA Championships.  It currently ranks 4^th in the nation.
 
The women utilized their depth in the 200 backstroke finishing in 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th, and 5^th.  Ola Tomala, Shelby Kasse, Erin Sutton, and McKenna Brown finished with times of 2:03.38, 2:06.12, 2:06.43, and 2:08.22.  Claudia Hollis competed exhibition but posted a time of 2:08.60 that would have finished 6^th and was a drop of 10 seconds from her previous best time.
 
The men finished 1^st and 2^nd in the 200 backstroke.  Jan Hanzal and Gerald Brown posted times of 1:49.33 and 1:52.55.
 
In the women's 100 freestyle, Simone de Rijcke, Kamila Kunka, and Marit de Lau finished 1^st, 3^rd, and 4^th.  They posted times of 51.15, 51.78, and 52.65.  De Rijcke and Kunka achieved NCAA B standards in the event.
 
Zach Linder, Daniel Jacob, and Jared Thornton finished 3^rd, 4^th, and 6^th in the men's 100 freestyle with times of 44.45, 44.77, and 45.88.  Linder and Jacob earned NCAA B standards and are currently ranked 9^th and 20^th in the country.
 
In the women's 200 breastroke, the Lions finished 3^rd, 4^th, and 5^th.  Mel Dunnuck, Shelby Quinn, and Baye Hatcher posted times of 2:23.69, 2:26.43, and 2:27.78.
 
Justin Winnett, Haoning Chen, Maxime Eekhoff, and Isaak Webb finished 1^st, 4^th, 5^th, and 6^th.  They posted times of 1:58.05, 2:00.46, 2:01.85, and 2:02.71.  Winnett and Chen earned NCAA B standards and currently rank 2^nd and 13^th in the country. 
 
McKenzie Murphy finished 3^rd in the 200 butterfly with a time of 2:06.75
 
In the men's 200 butterfly, Kian Quigley, Tylen Phillips, and Cristian Vasquez finished 1^st, 3^rd, and 4^th.  They posted times of 1:49.27, 1:52.92, and 1:53.41.  Quigley earned and NCAA B standard and currently ranks 16^th in the nation.
 
In women's 3 meter diving, the Lions were dominant again finishing 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, and 5^th.  Ashley Holloway, Katie Werkema, Madison Arnold, and Allie Steinhauser earned scores of 506.00, 436.50, 436.05, and 396.40.
 
To conclude the competition, the women's 400 freestyle relay won a close race against Delta State.  The team of Kunka, Sutton, de Lau and de Rijcke finished with a time of 3:36.78 which currently ranks them 9^th in the nation.
 
The men's relay fell to the Delta State men but kept it close.  The team of Jacob, Thornton, Chen, and Linder posted a time of 2:58.62 which currently ranks them 3^rd nationally behind only Queens and Delta State.

The New South Intercollegiate Swimming Championships February 20-23 will be a rematch of sorts and the final time the Lions will be present in the meet as they transition into the GLVC in 2019-2020