Three Commodores — first-year Aubrey Hull, senior Kailia Utley and graduate Libby Gilbert — represented Vanderbilt Swimming at this year’s Toyota U.S. Open in Greensboro, North Carolina, from Dec. 5-7. The trio did not participate in the first day of competition, which was reserved for relay races.
Hull ended an outstanding fall season with an exclamation point at the Open. The first-year competed in three events: the 50-yard freestyle, the 100-yard backstroke and the 200-yard backstroke.
The first-year posted a personal best time of 23.74 seconds in the preliminary rounds for the 50 free, but her swim in the 100 back was the highlight of the weekend, as it qualified her for the 100 back B final. She took second place with a time of 53.49 in the event. The time met the NCAA Championships B standard by just four-hundredths of a second and broke Hull’s previously set school record in the event.
Utley, last year’s lone NCAA Championship qualifier, swam the 100 and 200 butterfly in Greensboro, posting season-best times in both events. The senior was the only Commodore to qualify for an A final at the Open, doing so in both her events. The California native finished eighth in the 100 fly A final but did not swim the 200 fly A final. Utley’s times of 53.95 and 1:59.67 in the 100 and 200 fly, respectively, both met the CSCAA B standard.
Gilbert competed alongside Hull in the 100 and 200 back but also tacked on an appearance in the 200 free — in which she qualified for the B final. The Ohio State transfer failed to set any personal bests at the meet but will have many opportunities to do so in the spring season.
“It was a really successful trip for us,” head coach Jeremy Organ said. “I think we accomplished what we wanted to get out of the meet, traveling to face that level of competition and getting to have some second swims and drop some times. I’m really proud of these ladies and looking forward to the second half of our season.”
Vanderbilt’s spring season will kick off on Jan. 3 when it hosts the Kentucky Wildcats for a dual meet.
