Webster, N.Y. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford women's swimming team had a historic day at the Allegheny Empire Swimming and Diving Championships on Wednesday, as they set two program records on the first night of competition. They currently sit in 7th place with 74 points.

The meet started with the 200-yard medley relay, where the Panthers had two relay teams complete the event. Pitt-Bradford's top team set the program record in the event, besting the old mark by 0.51 seconds. The team of Emma Slocum, Isabella Cercone, Madison Foote, and Bailey Fedak finished the race in 7th with a time of 1:59.54. The old mark of 2:00.05 was set in February 2015. Slocum started the race with the backstroke, finishing her leg in 30.14 seconds. Cercone swam the breaststroke leg in 31.43 seconds and Foote swam the butterfly portion in 31.67 seconds. Finally, Fedak closed the race with a 26.30-second freestyle leg.

The Panthers' second team was able to pick up 8 points, finishing in 17th. Ruby Smith, Brooklyn Bellavia, Willow Sandusky, and Hannah Westover finished in 2:33.72. 

The top relay team was back in the water for the second relay of the night, the 800-yard freestyle, as they once again broke the old program mark. The Panthers finished the race in 6th place with a time of 8:46.03. They broke this program record by 0.61 seconds. Slocum started the race again, posting a 2:13.25 opening split. Foote swam the second leg of the race, finishing her 200 in 2:16.72. Fedak had a strong 3rd leg, finishing in 2:11.89, while Cercone posted the best split for the Panthers in the anchor position, swimming her laps in 2:04.17.

Through the first 5 events, the Panthers are in 7th place with 74 points. They will be back in action tomorrow for the second day of competition, which will include the 500-yard freestyle, the 200-yard individual medley, the 50-yard freestyle, and the 200-yard freestyle relay. Preliminary rounds begin at 10:00 a.m. with the finals resuming at 5:00 p.m.