Swimming & Diving Cruises Past Simmons

WELLESLEY, Mass. – The Wellesley College swimming and diving team cruised to a 171-96 dual meet victory over visiting Simmons College on Saturday afternoon at Chandler Pool. The win lifts the Blue to 3-1 overall, while the Sharks fall to 2-2. 

Wellesley touched first all 14 swimming events, while taking top honors in both diving events as well. At the swimming end of the pool, the Blue were led by sophomore Tiffany Chen who recorded the fastest time in three individual events, while first-years Dorothy Ren and Charlotte Harris touched first in two events each.

Chen recorded a win in the 1,000-free in 11:46.62, while also touching first in both the 50-back (29.64) and the 200-back (2:17.39). Ren was the winner in the 50-free in 25.37, while also swimming a 5:31.19 in the 500-free. Harris won the 200-IM in a time of 2:22.8, with a 2:37.92 in the 200-breast.

Also earning first-place finishes for the Blue were junior Mariam Amirkhanashvili, sophomore Kendra Waters, and first-year Ieva Galinyte. Amirkhanashvili won the 50-fly in 27.80, Waters was the winner in the 50-breast (32.96), while Galinyte won the 200-free in a time of 2:00.87.

Elsewhere for the Blue, junior Gabriela Kovacikova, sophomore Grace Bachman and first-year Theresa Mitchell all recorded both a first-place and a second-place finish at the event. Kovacikova touched first in the 200-back in 2:15.70, while taking second in the 50-back in 30.23. Bachman won the 100-free in 58.26, and took second in the 200-fly (2:23.84), while Mitchell was the winner in the 200-fly in 2:19.42, and took second in the 50-fly (27.80).  
Rounding out the individual swimming accolades, junior Anne Hamilton recorded second place finishes in the 50-breast (33.86) and the 200-breast (2:43.39). 

Wellesley also touched first in both relay events. In the 400-yard medley relay, the team of Galinyte, first-year Emily Sotomayor, Mitchell and Harris, recorded a time of 4:18.28, while the team of Amirkhanashvili, Hamilton, Kovacikova and Bachman swam a 4:24.02. In the 200-free relay, Wellesley's "A" team of Ren, Kovacikova, Mitchell, and Amirkhanashvili picked up a time of 1:44.73.

At the diving end of the pool, sophomore Gabby Cooper-Vespa swept both of the events. She recorded a 222.37 on the 1-meter board and a 210.89 on the 3-meter board, while senior Kathryn Goffin finished second with a 190.5 on the 3-meter board and a 177.30 on the 1-meter board. 

Simmons was paced by junior Jen Collins who recorded the second-fastest time in two events, while also swimming on a second-place relay team. She swam the 50-free in a time of 26.22, while swimming the 500-free in 5:36.30. 

Also picking up second place finishes for Simmons were senior Anne Karasek and first-year Maddy McDonald. Karasek touched second in the 1,000-free, in 12:33.16, while McDonald placed second in the 100-free in 58.68. 

In the 200-free relay, the Simmons "A" team of McDonald, junior Amy Davis, sophomore Chloe Davis, and Collins, combined for a second-place finish, recording a time of 1:46.30. 

Wellesley is back in action on November 28th against Tufts University. The swimmers will travel to Medford to face the Jumbos, while the divers will host their meet at Chandler Pool. Both events begin at 7:00pm.