SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Solid opening day performances for Drury men's and women's swimming and diving teams handed both Panther squads leads after the first of two days of competition at the Drury Invitational Friday afternoon at Breech Pool.

Petra Baumane led a dominant Drury relay effort, helping the Panthers to wins in both the 200 free and 400 medley relays, in addition to her victory in the 50 free that lifted DU (368.50) to a sizable lead over second-place Rockhurst (199). Belen Morales added a victory in the 500 free to compliment a pair of second-place relay (200 free, 400 medley) finishes.

Matheus Siniscalchi, who finsihed second in the 500 free, and Elliot Weber, who placed third in the 50 free, led the Drury men (237) to a narrow 13-point lead over second-place Quincy (224) after one day of competition. 

Women's Highlights

• Drury captured gold and silver in both the 200 free and 400 medley relays in dominant fashion; Baumane, Whitney Stortz, Leticia Nunes and Nikol Maniko combined for a 1:34.50 finish in the 200 free, followed closely by the quartet of Morales, Sophia Deane, Sophia Kelly and Juliana Harden (1:35.91).
• In the 400 medley, Deane, Alyssa Freimanis, Yevheniia Zhukova and Baumane turned in a time of 3:50.86 to claim the race, while Elvira Lonnberg Flores, Ashley Leader, Rianne Rose and Morales finished in 3:52.66 for second.
• Morales and Rose also finished No. 1 and No. 2 for Drury in the 500 free; Morales turned in a swim of 4:59.44, while Rose followed with a 5:09.90 finish. 
• The Panthers took three of the the top four finishes in the 200 IM, led by Ella Gunnarsson's (2:09.45) second-place finish; Lonnberg Flores  (2:09.57) placed third, edging Kelly (2:09.62) by the slimmest of margins. 
• Baumane logged an individual gold as well after DU placed four swimmers in the top five of the 50 free; Baumane's 23.51 narrowly eclipsed Maniko (23.66) for the top podium spot; Harden tied for third with William Jewell's Maddie Atwood with a swim of 24.14, and (24.37) Freimanis took fifth.

Men's Highlights

• Siniscalchi (4:33.94) turned in the top individual performance for the DU men, placing second in the 500 free.
• Weber turned in a strong showing in the 50 free, clocking a swim of 21.05 to finish third.
• Colby Hughes (4:36.89) followed Siniscalchi in fourth, while Leon Heberlein (4:38.89) finished fifth for the Panthers.
• AIn the 200 IM, Jaime Gomez-Guillamon was the top performer for DU, placing third with a swim of 1:53.79; Jake Prevatte added a top-five finish with a time of 1:54.56.

UP NEXT
Both Drury swimming and diving squads will be back in action for the second and final day of competition at the Drury Invitational Saturday, beginning at 9 a.m. at Breech Pool.