RADFORD, Va.- Freshman Chelsea Nugent established new school records in each event she competed in, as the VMI swimming season kicked off on Saturday afternoon at Radford. Nugent was the only Keydet competing in the tri-meet that featured Radford and Campbell.

Nugent (Glendale, Calif.) competed in three events on the afternoon, beginning the day by turning in a time of 2:27.80 in the 200-yard IM. That broke the school record by eight seconds, while she next took aim at the 100-yard butterfly. In that race, she swam a 1:06.20, besting the old mark by over four seconds, while her time of 1:19.25 in the 100-yard breaststroke broke the old mark by over six seconds.

"Chelsea really had an outstanding collegiate debut this afternoon," said VMI head coach Bill Nicholson. "To come out and claim three school records in your first competition is pretty impressive, and she beat them all by over four seconds. I was really proud of her performance today, she was able to hang with some good swimmers that she'll face at the Conference Championships, and I believe this is only the beginning of what is to come for Chelsea Nugent at VMI."

Nugent finished in fourth place in each of the first two events and fifth in the final competition. In the tri-meet, the Keydets dropped decisions to Radford (153-11) and Campbell (158-9). The tri-meet was each school's first Coastal Collegiate Swimming Association (CCSA) competition, as the conference was formed this summer.

The VMI swimming and diving teams return to action next weekend, as the teams compete at Radford on Friday evening before hosting their first meet in three years as Gardner-Webb comes to the Cocke Hall Pool next Saturday morning at 9 a.m.