Liberty Swimming & Diving to Open Season at Seminole Fall Classic

The five-time defending CCSA champion Liberty swimming & diving team opens its 2023-24 season this weekend at the Seminole Fall Classic in Tallahassee, Fla. The Lady Flames will take on the host Seminoles, along with Georgia Tech and TCU. Friday's session begins at 5 p.m., while the teams will race starting at 10 a.m. on Saturday.
This weekend's meet will feature invitational scoring, with team standings being tabulated.
Team Notes

The Lady Flames join the Atlantic Sun Conference this season, as the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association dissolved as a swimming conference after sponsoring swimming & diving ever since 2007-08. Liberty won six total CCSA tiles, including each of the last five in a row. The seven teams in ASUN Swimming & Diving are Liberty, Bellarmine, FGCU, Gardner-Webb, North Florida, Queens and UNC Asheville.
In a meet where three different teams held leads, Liberty pulled away to win the 2023 CCSA Women's Swimming & Diving Championship. The Lady Flames scored 1,441.5 points, defeating second-place James Madison by 102.5 points.
14th-year Head Coach Jake Shellenberger has led the Lady Flames from the program's inception. He has posted a 124-37 dual-meet record, being named CCSA Women's Swimming Coach of the Year five times (2012, 2014, 2019, 2022, 2023).
Last year at the CCSA Championships, the Lady Flames registered 22 podium finishes and five event victories, to go along with six NCAA B cuts, three NCAA Zone Qualifying scores and one program record.
Andrew Helmich led the Lady Flames' divers to much success during the 2022-23 season. Four Lady Flames (Maddie Freece, Grace Gooding, Mary Herndon, Meagan Tuohy) qualified for the NCAA Division I Zone Diving Championships.
Four Lady Flames received CSCAA Individual Scholar All-America honors last season, in Heather Gardner (second team), Abbie Shaw (second team), Eva Suggs (second team) and Meagan Tuohy (second team).
Junior Heather Gardner was named to the 2023 VaSID All-State University Division Women's Swimming & Diving second team.
A total of nine current Lady Flames have posted CCSA podium finishes in their career, led by five from both Maddie Freece and Abbie Shaw. Genna Joyce (3), Sydney Stricklin (3), Abby Strohmeier (3), Heather Gardner (2), Grace Isaacs (2), Shelby Kahn (2) and Isabelle Gomez (1) have all podiumed as well.

Student-Athlete Notes

Senior Abbie Shaw has won both the 100 and 200 backstroke at each of the last two CCSA Championships. She added a third-place finish in the 100 fly at the 2023 CCSA meet. Shaw enters the season as the program record holder in the 50 backstroke (24.34), ranking second in the 200 back (1:55.13), third in 100 back (52.92) and fourth in 100 fly.
Senior Maddie Freece was named CCSA Women's Diver of the Year as both a freshman and sophomore. Freece was named the 2022 Co-Most Outstanding Diver of the CCSA Championship Meet. She has claimed three conference individual titles and five CCSA podium finishes. Freece has earned qualification to NCAA Zone Championships each of her three seasons as a Lady Flame. She is the program record holder in one-meter diving (320.75).
Junior Sydney Stricklin was named Most Outstanding Freshman of the 2022 CCSA Championships. She won the 100 free at the 2022 conference meet, while also placing second in the 100 fly. This February, she captured third place in the 100 back at the CCSA Championships. Stricklin enters the season ranked third in program history in 100 free (49.48) and fifth in 200 free (1:47.66).
Sophomore Mary Herndon is ranked second in program history in three-meter springboard (309.75) after a standout freshman campaign.
Junior Grace Isaacs won the CCSA title in the 400 IM as a freshman before claiming second in the event last season. She is ranked third in program history in the 400 IM (4:17.31).
Sophomore Isabelle Gomez earned a sliver medal in the 1650 freestyle at the 2023 CCSA Championships, ranking second in program history (16:44.17) in the event.
Senior Heather Gardner was named to the 2023 VaSID All-State second team after a breakout season. She finished third in both the 100 (1:01.03) and 200 (2:12.94) breaststroke, swimming NCAA B cut times in both events. She is ranked second on the program's all-time Top 10 in the 100 breaststroke and fourth in the 200 breaststroke.
Senior Genna Joyce placed second in the CCSA 200 breaststroke in NCAA B cut 2:12.66 this February while finishing third in the 400 IM for the second year in a row. She is ranked second in program history in the 200 breaststroke.
Freshman Kamryn Cannings enters as one of the top-rated freshmen in the country. She placed third in the 2023 Canadian World Trials in the 100-meter butterfly (58.67) and 50-meter butterfly (26.73).

Matchup Highlights

This will be the first time since Jan. 4, 2020 that Liberty has competed in the state of Florida for swimming & diving. That day, Liberty swept a quad meet at FGCU, defeating Tulane, Illinois State and the host FGCU Eagles. This is the ninth season in which Liberty has had a meet in the Sunshine State, opening the calendar years of 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020 with meets in Florida.
Liberty is 0-2 all-time against Georgia Tech in swimming & diving, falling to the Yellow Jackets in Fort Myers, Fla., Jan. 7, 2012 and losing to Georgia Tech on Oct. 2, 2015 in Atlanta, Ga.
The Lady Flames earned a 130.5-112.5 win at TCU on Oct. 9, 2015 in the only meeting between the two programs to date. Liberty and Florida State will be meeting for the first time.
Florida State finished seventh at the 2023 ACC Women's Swimming & Diving Championships, while Georgia Tech placed ninth. Meanwhile, TCU placed third at the 2023 Big 12 Women's Swimming & Diving Championships.
FSU earned a 32^nd-place finish at the 2023 NCAA Division I Women's Swimming & Diving Championships. Edith Jernstedt finished 13^th in the 200 fly, while Samantha Vear also earned All-America honorable mention, finishing 10^th in one-meter springboard. Both All-Americans return this season.
Georgia Tech scored two points at the 2023 NCAA Championships, courtesy of a 15^th-place finish from Deniz Ertan in the 1650 freestyle. Ertan has since graduated.

Up Next
Liberty will next compete at James Madison, Oct. 13 in Harrisonburg, Va. The Dukes finished second at the 2023 CCSA Championships and will now compete in the Sun Belt this season.

Schedule

Liberty Swimming & Diving to Open Season at Seminole Fall Classic

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Kamryn Cannings

Maddie Freece

Heather Gardner

Isabelle Gomez

Grace Gooding

Mary Herndon

Grace Isaacs

Genna Joyce

Shelby Kahn

Abbie Shaw

Sydney Stricklin

Abby Strohmeier

Eva Suggs

Meagan Tuohy

Liberty Swimming & Diving to Open Season at Seminole Fall Classic

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Kamryn Cannings

Maddie Freece

Heather Gardner

Isabelle Gomez

Grace Gooding

Mary Herndon

Grace Isaacs

Genna Joyce

Shelby Kahn

Abbie Shaw

Sydney Stricklin

Abby Strohmeier

Eva Suggs

Meagan Tuohy

Related Videos